 |
| The GM Astra Tourer made at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire |
I did an article on production volumes by leading brands in the UK (as seen by clicking here) but decided to expand with detail and separate Land Rover from Jaguar.
Total volume was up a slight 3.9% to 1,587,677. The number isn't huge, reflective of the indifference and apathy most UK new car buyers have for what is a vital and high quality industry. Exports are the key ingredient to its success, cars being sent to the four corners of the globe. How can a sphere have corners...?
The UK took 360,000 cars, EU 706,000, the USA 134,000, China 86,000, Turkey 35,600, Australia 34,400, Japan 22,100, Korea 20,900 and others 188,700. While the EU figure is large, Germany alone sends more cars to the UK than that.
Breakdown by brand:
Nissan: Still the top car maker if you don't combine Land Rover and Jaguar. The drop in volume was effectively why the total was not much higher than 2014. My 2016 prediction is that Nissan will be similar to 2015.
Land Rover: It was the same as the year before, with a factory in China reducing exports there. Now a smaller one has just opened in Brazil so if LR can make the same number again, that will be a success.
MINI: The new 5-door model helped achieve an 8% increase. The new Clubman should lift production volume again in 2016.
Toyota: With the Auris and Avensis made in the UK, they managed an 8% gain. I find it hard to predict what will happen as Toyota can increase production without an obvious reason I can see. 2016 may be the same as 2015.
Honda: It made the Civic hatch/Tourer, CR-V and Jazz in 2015 but the latter has now finished. It's going to end the CR-V eventually and be just a Civic plant. I'm not a fan of one model plants but Honda is going that way. Production down 6% in 2015 and may be up slightly in 2016.
Jaguar: The success story of 2015 with volume up 31%, thanks to the XE. Now the F-Pace is here, 2016 is going to mean a huge increase. I'm not going to say how much it wouldn't surprise me if it got near to doubling 2015's result. The demand is there but it depends how many of the F-Pace Jaguar can make.
GM: A 5% growth was achieved in 2015 and for 2016 the new Astra Sports Tourer has arrived. That should lift numbers, but by how much?
The Rest: Smaller marques, making mainly luxury and sports cars. China took a hit on such sales, ostensibly to cut graft and conspicuous consumption but I would suggest more about reducing imports. The drive to reduce Infiniti's arrival will really only be felt in 2016.
Summary: 2015 was a so-so year and 2016 will be much better. Thereafter it hard to say but increase for 2017 will slow again. 2016 will be a good year for UK car making.
| 14 | 15 | Brand | 2015 | % | +/- | |||
| 1 | 1 | Nissan | 474,844 | 29.9% | -9% | 20% or | ||
| 2 | 2 | Land Rover | 387,253 | 24.4% | 0% | More | ||
| 3 | 3 | BMW MINI | 201,207 | 12.7% | 8% | |||
| 4 | 4 | Toyota | 190,161 | 12.0% | 6% | 1% to 19% | ||
| 5 | 5 | Honda | 119,414 | 7.5% | -6% | |||
| 7 | 6 | Jaguar | 102,670 | 6.5% | 31% | -19% to 0% | ||
| 6 | 7 | GM Vauxhall | 85,241 | 5.4% | 5% | |||
| 8 | 8 | Bentley | 10,720 | 0.7% | -3% | 20% or | ||
| 9 | 9 | Rolls Royce | 3,769 | 0.2% | -17% | Less | ||
| 10 | 10 | Aston Martin | 3,172 | 0.2% | -23% | |||
| 11 | 11 | SAIC MG | 2,202 | 0.1% | -31% | |||
| - | 12 | Infiniti | 1,745 | 0.1% | new | |||
| 13 | 13 | Lotus | 1,665 | 0.1% | 7% | |||
| 12 | 14 | Mclaren | 1,438 | 0.1% | -21% | |||
| 14 | 15 | LTI Taxi | 1,184 | 0.1% | -17% | |||
| 15 | 16 | Morgan | 507 | 5% | ||||
| 16 | 17 | Caterham | 485 | 1% | ||||
| Total | 1,587,677 | 3.9 |
 |
| The new Clubman. Much better but quite long |
No comments