The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders paint a devastating picture of Britain’s automotive sector. UK vehicle production fell 17.2% in February, with just 68,061 units rolling off production lines. Passenger car output dropped 10.7% to 65,885 vehicles. Commercial vehicle production collapsed by a staggering 74%, to just 2,176 units.
These aren’t seasonal fluctuations or temporary adjustments. This is an industry in crisis — and the crisis is being made worse by a government whose policies are actively hostile to manufacturing investment.
Global Demand Is Collapsing
The export figures tell the story. Shipments to the United States fell 34.3%. Exports to China crashed 66.4%. Japan was down 6.8%. The only bright spot was a modest 5.3% increase in EU exports — hardly enough to compensate for the carnage elsewhere.
The US decline is directly linked to Trump’s trade tariffs, which continue to hammer international automotive trade. The China collapse reflects the dominance of domestic Chinese manufacturers who are rapidly taking market share from Western brands. These are structural challenges that require a strategic government response — not the indifference Britain is currently getting.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes described the figures as ‘deeply concerning’ and ‘extremely worrying.’ When the industry’s own representative body is using language like that, the government should be listening. Instead, Labour continues to pile costs onto manufacturers through National Insurance increases, new employment obligations, and energy prices that make UK production uncompetitive.
The EV Transition Excuse
The government and its allies will point to the electric vehicle transition as an explanation for some of the production decline. Several UK plants are indeed retooling for new electric models, temporarily reducing output. But this argument actually strengthens the case against Labour’s approach.
The EV transition requires massive investment in UK manufacturing capacity. It requires competitive energy costs so that factories can operate profitably. It requires a skilled workforce that isn’t being priced out by rising employment costs. It requires trade agreements that give UK-built vehicles access to global markets. On every single one of these requirements, the government is failing.
Energy costs in the UK are among the highest in Europe. The tax burden on employers has never been greater. Trade policy is adrift, with no meaningful response to US tariffs and no strategy for the Chinese market. And the planning system continues to block the infrastructure investment that the EV transition depends on.
Manufacturing Matters
The automotive industry is one of Britain’s most important manufacturing sectors. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, from assembly line workers to engineers to the vast supply chain of components manufacturers. When car production declines, the impact ripples through communities across the country — particularly in the Midlands and the North, where many of these jobs are concentrated.
Reform UK has argued consistently that Britain needs a manufacturing strategy that prioritises competitive costs, streamlined regulation, and aggressive trade diplomacy. You don’t build an industrial base by taxing businesses into the ground and hoping the market sorts itself out. You build it by creating conditions where investment makes sense — low energy costs, reasonable taxation, efficient regulation, and access to global markets.
“A 17% drop in car production isn’t a blip — it’s a warning. Britain’s manufacturing base is being eroded by high costs, bad policy, and government indifference. If we don’t act now, the factories and the jobs won’t come back.”
The February figures are a warning that Britain’s industrial base is weakening at exactly the moment it should be strengthening for the green transition. Without a fundamental change in approach — lower costs, better trade deals, faster planning, and a government that actually understands manufacturing — the decline will accelerate. And the communities that depend on these jobs will pay the price for Labour’s failures.