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UK car production is still much lower than it needs to be due to shortages of staff and semiconductors, the industry is warning.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said just 69,097 cars were produced in June, the lowest since 1953, with the exception of last year.
The trade body is calling for urgent assistance to exempt staff pinged by the NHS Covid app.
SMMT said the industry was desperately trying to get back to full capacity .
The picture didn t look particularly pretty , the SMMT s chief executive Mike Hawes said, even though production numbers were up on June 2020, just after the first coronavirus lockdown ended.
UK car output up a third after slump but sector warns of chip shortage
FILE PHOTO: Imported cars are parked in a storage area at Sheerness port, Sheerness, Britain, October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
July 29, 2021
By Costas Pitas
LONDON (Reuters) – British car production rose by nearly a third in the first half of 2021 from last year’s slump, but remained down on the five-year average as the sector warned that COVID-19 continued to cause staffing and supply problems.
While factories were forced to close as the pandemic hit Britain in March last year, they have operated in 2021 with protective measures in place, although a lack of semiconductor chips has hit volumes.
UK Car Production Remains Weak On Supply Shortages: SMMT
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Although UK car output increased in June from the Covid-depressed June 2020, it was the worst June total since 1953 as the global chip shortage continued to take a toll on production, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, said Thursday.
In June, car production totaled 69,097 units, up 22.1 percent from the same period last year.
Factories turned out 498,923 cars in first half of year, down -38.4 percent on five-year average. The sector rounded off a turbulent first six months with the pandemic, new trading rules with Europe and supply issues causing ongoing challenges.
Last modified on Thu 29 Jul 2021 01.39 EDT
Top story: Potential for more Delta disruption
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Britainâs recovery from the pandemic slowed in June as shortages of goods supplied to factories, building sites and shops began to take their toll and the âpingdemicâ forced workers to isolate, according to the Guardianâs monthly economic snapshot of economic developments. The slowdown could drag on if the Delta variant continues to hamper business activity. Construction companies reported a second month of declining activity, worsened by EU staff leaving because of Brexit. Retail sales increased by 0.5% in June, but only after a surge in purchases of food and drink to accompany the European football championships.
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