Carmaking in 2008 falls sharply

Professor David Bailey has urged the government to take action

The number of new cars produced in the UK in December 2008 fell dramatically, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

December production was 47.5% lower than in the same period in 2007, as plants were shut-down over Christmas.

But for the whole 2008, production was down only 5.7%, as earlier in the year it was quite strong.

Earlier in January, SMMT said the number of new cars actually sold in the UK in 2008 fell by 11.3% from 2007.

CUTTING BACK Aston Martin: Extended Christmas shutdown and 600 redundancies Bentley: Worked a three-day week in October and longer Christmas break GM (Vauxhall): Extended Christmas closure and 40-day shutdown Honda: Four-month shutdown between February and May Jaguar Land Rover: Series of one-day shutdowns and production cuts late 2008 plus 450 redundancies planned Mini: Christmas shutdown extended by 10 days. 300 agency staff let go and one week shutdown planned for February and two weeks in August Nissan: Two-week shutdown late last year and 1,200 redundancies Toyota: One of the night shifts suspended Source: SMMT EU ministers discuss car aid

"UK vehicle production figures for 2008 demonstrate both the strength of the sector and the very dramatic fall in demand in the last quarter," SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt said in a statement.

"UK facilities are globally competitive with high productivity levels and hugely attractive model line-ups."

Britain exports three-quarters of the cars it manufactures.

Last week, Honda announced it planned to extend its halt in production at its plant in Swindon for two months, on top of its already-announced shut-down during February and March.

The carmaker had announced in November the plant would be shut during February and March.

The global car industry has been going through a difficult period because of a collapse in global sales.

There are no guarantees that all the main European carmakers will survive the economic downturn, according to the EU's Industry Commissioner.

"SMMT has been in close discussion with UK government on the urgent need to improve access to credit and kick-start demand in the market, in order to sustain valuable industrial capability during this exceptionally difficult period," said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt.

This story is based on figures released for December 2008 and appeared in January 2009. A technical problem has resulted in the date stamp on this story saying June 2009.