Car plants increased outputs to 115,500 units last month, up 46.6% year-on-year
It is the first rise in production since August 2019, SMMT records show
Sector bosses point out that despite the rise, production was down 23% on the five-year March average
They also warned that UK manufacturers face new problems in the shape of semi-conductor supply issues and Brexit-related trade difficulties
By JULIAN SHEA in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2021-04-29 09:31 Share CLOSE Test vehicles and sensors are seen from Aeva Inc, a Mountain View, California-based startup that makes lidar sensors to help self-driving vehicles see the road in an undated handout photo provided Sept 4, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
Motoring industry groups have given a cautious welcome to the news that drivers on British roads could be allowed to let their vehicles self-drive before the end of this year.
Automated lane-keeping system technology, known as Alks, will permit drivers in slow-moving traffic to take their eyes off driving, with the car s own artificial intelligence ensuring that the vehicle keeps a safe distance from others and stays in its lane, and does not go faster than 59 km/h.
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK car production increased for the first time since summer 2019, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, said Thursday.Car output grew 46.6 percent in March
First increase in car production after 18 months of decline, figures show
The trade body reported that 115,498 cars were built in March (Andrew Matthews/PA)
The number of cars built in the UK has increased for the first time after 18 months of decline, figures show.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the figures were a “major step in the right direction” but added that with factories shut for much of March 2020, output was always going to be up.
The trade body reported that 115,498 cars were built in March, 46% more than the same month a year ago.
The figures were published a year since the coronavirus crisis caused all UK automotive plants to close in mid-March 2020, after only 78,767 cars had left factory gates that month.