Britain’s CV production is cause for cheer

Autocar Pro News Desk By Autocar Pro News Desk calendar 25 Aug 2022 Views icon2127 Views Share - Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to LinkedIn Share to Whatsapp
Britain’s CV production is cause for cheer

Despite serious impacts on supply chains and manufacturing across the board, working vehicle production has hit superb highs recently, with the best July in six years, according to SMMT.

No fewer than 8,097 vans, buses, trucks, coaches and taxis rolled out of the factory doors in the month – that’s more than 40 percent up on July last year.

It was the eleventh monthly increase in production, too, so year-to-date performance is unbeaten since 2012, at 58,693 units, some 47 percent above the same period in 2021.

Demand for  CV is strong at home as well as abroad, where almost 60 percent of the finished products end up finding new homes.

However, the good news has to be seen in the context of some “dark clouds” in the sky that even the brightest of silver linings cannot shine through. Energy costs continue to dog the industry, while inflation predictions seem to be getting ever higher. In addition, the cost-of-living crisis is biting hard.

In the bus sector, the £130 million extra for the Bus Recovery Grant announced by government last week will help to support bus operator services and the millions of people that use them every single day. It extends the grant for a further six months and follows calls from a growing list of operators who say they face no other choice but to cut services.

Ridership levels have gradually recovered since the end of lockdowns but are still below pre-pandemic levels, which is quite understandably holding back operator confidence to invest in their fleets.

However, this investment is needed, across the CV sector, in order to meet the UK’s ambitious targets for decarbonisation.

 

Tags: SMMT
RELATED ARTICLES
Volkswagen Group sells 506,500 BEVs globally in January-September 2024

auther Autocar Pro News Desk calendar13 Oct 2024

Though BEV sales were down 4.7% YoY, their share of 8% of total VW Group vehicle sales at the end of September is at the...

Tesla reveals self-driving Robotaxi and Robovan

auther Autocar Pro News Desk calendar12 Oct 2024

Compact, self-driving two-seater revealed alongside autonomous, 20-seat Robovan.

GM China sells over 426,000 vehicles in Q3, EVs and hybrids drive growth

auther Autocar Pro News Desk calendar11 Oct 2024

GM’s sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), surpas...