UK Car Production Drops 23.8% in October 2025: SMMT
MichelleThe reduction followed a temporary halt at an automotive employer after a cyber incident, with operations now gradually resumed.
The latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed that the October 2025 UK car production dropped by 23.8% compared to the previous year.
The reduction followed a temporary halt at one of the country's largest automotive employers, which had paused operations due to a cyber incident before gradually resuming output.
In October, UK factories produced 59,010 cars, which is 18,474 fewer than in the same month of the previous year. Of these vehicles, nearly half (46.2%) were battery electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid models.
This segment saw a volume increase of 10.4% year-on-year, reaching 27,287 units.
Cars manufactured for the domestic market declined by 10.6% to 13,785 units.
Production of commercial vehicles continued to decrease for the seventh consecutive month, falling by 74.9% to 3,106 units.
This trend followed a consolidation of manufacturing operations in the North West by a large producer.
Overall car and van output combined was down by 30.9% in October with a total of 62,116 vehicles leaving assembly lines.
This update came shortly after the Chancellor's recent Budget announcement. Among the measures outlined were an additional £1.5bn ($1.98bn) for automotive transformation projects and a postponement of regulations that would end certain car ownership schemes for employees until the next parliament.
Other market policies included an extra £1.3bn allocated to the Electric Car Grant and adjustments to the VED [vehicle excise duty] expensive car supplement intended to reduce tax on some electric vehicles.
So far this year, UK manufacturers have produced 644,366 cars and vans—a drop of 17% compared with the same period last year.
According to independent forecasts cited by SMMT, production is expected to rise again in 2026 when new electric vehicle models are introduced and annual output is predicted to reach around 828,000 cars and vans.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "Another difficult month for UK vehicle production as the impact of the earlier cyber attack continued to be felt.
"Growth is on the horizon, however, and the [UK] government has recognised the automotive industry as a pillar of national strategic importance, backing it with an industrial strategy and additional £1.5bn to drive manufacturing competitiveness."
The SMMT also announced leadership changes with Kia UK president and CEO Paul Philpott becoming its 84th president effective from 1 January 2026.
He will succeed Adient vice-president Mick Flanagan, who steps down after completing his two-year tenure.
A previous SMMT report revealed that registrations of new heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in the UK decreased by 14.5% during Q3 2025 with 9,272 new trucks entering service over that period.
"UK car production drops 23.8% in October 2025: SMMT" was originally created and published by Motor Finance Online, a GlobalData owned brand.
