UK CV Production increases in May

Production in the UK for commercial vehicles often goes under the radar as its nothing like the volumes compared to passenger cars but in the UK we only have one major commercial vehicle manufacturing production plant which is the PSA / Vauxhall plant in Luton. This is in stark contrast to times in the eighties and indeed, up until the Ford Transit plant in Southampton closed down fully in 2013, we had a reasonably sized manufacturing sector.

CV Production Figures

UK commercial vehicle production increased to 6,243 units in May, according to the latest figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). For the second consecutive month CV output saw a significant increase on the same period in 2020, when just 820 units left production lines as plants either operated at a reduced capacity or were shut entirely. May’s output also represents a 2.2% increase on the five-year average, although this must be viewed in the context of important model changes in 2019.

Year-to-date, commercial vehicle production has increased by 28.5% on 2020 to 28,510 units, driven chiefly by a rise in domestic demand, up 48.4%. While the domestic share of production continues to increase, the share of exports has fallen from 56.3% in 2020 to 49.5% this year, as new trading agreements and lockdown measures abroad continue to have an impact on CV exports.