UK Car Production Declines On Chip Shortage: SMMT

(RTTNews) - UK car production declined sharply in August largely due to the global shortage of semiconductors, data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, showed on Thursday.

Car output declined 27 percent year-on-year in August. This was the second consecutive fall in production.

The lobby said global chip shortage as well as some extended summer factory shutdowns dented overall performance.

Production for domestic market grew 3.3 percent, while that for foreign market was down 32.5 percent. About 29,200 cars were shipped overseas, with the decline driven by falling exports to faraway markets including Australia, the US and China.

Production in the year-to-date remained up, by 13.8 percent, to 589,607 cars, driven by exports with 83.2 percent of everything made heading for markets abroad.

Carmakers and their suppliers are battling to keep production lines rolling with constraints expected to continue well into 2022 and possibly beyond, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said.