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| The very popular Qashqai, this the new mark II version |
European car making has had a few tough years. A declining market has hurt volumes and created over capacity. High labour costs deterred investment in new plants as well. Still, some nations have fared better than others.
The UK went through much pain when it's car industry imploded and tough decisions were made. In the end market forces were allowed to run their course and a leaner industry emerged. France for example (a nation known for government meddling), is only now letting this happen. The good news was Britain was then seen as a good place to invest and Japanese firms did just that, and virtually saved the industry. Billions of pounds was poured in over time, creating employment and tax revenue.
The bad news was the British public either hasn't known what happened or identified with these now locally made cars with Japanese logos. In 2013 over 750,000 more cars were imported into the UK than made there. Considering the brands making cars in Britain, you would have to wonder what went wrong on that point.
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| The MINI rolling off the line at Oxford |
Part of it is apathy and ignorance of reality as mentioned. The car makers themselves may have been lax in promoting what they brought to the nation. That said, supporting brands that clearly are local by name will always be easier.
Below there are home sales of UK made cars, the percentage of total production that makes up, exported UK cars and the total production. Then to the right, events of note.
| Year | Home | % Hm | Export | Total | Arrivals and departures |
| 2000 | 578.5 | 35.2 | 1,063.0 | 1,641.5 | |
| 2001 | 598.2 | 40.1 | 894.2 | 1,492.4 | Ford pull out |
| 2002 | 582.2 | 35.7 | 1,047.7 | 1,629.9 | MINI's first full year |
| 2003 | 513.8 | 31.0 | 1,143.7 | 1,657.5 | GM Vectra's last full year |
| 2004 | 467.1 | 28.4 | 1,180.1 | 1,647.2 | End of MGR |
| 2005 | 411.3 | 25.8 | 1,185.1 | 1,596.4 | Range Rover Sport introduced |
| 2006 | 336.0 | 23.3 | 1,106.1 | 1,442.1 | Peugeot leaves/Nissan Note enters |
| 2007 | 349.1 | 22.7 | 1,185.5 | 1,534.6 | Nissan Qashqai arrives |
| 2008 | 318.0 | 22.0 | 1,128.6 | 1,446.6 | Jaguar XF starts |
| 2009 | 237.2 | 23.7 | 762.2 | 999.4 | |
| 2010 | 309.0 | 24.3 | 961.4 | 1,270.4 | Honda Jazz commences |
| 2011 | 219.1 | 16.3 | 1,124.7 | 1,343.8 | RR Evoque is here! |
| 2012 | 253.1 | 17.3 | 1,211.8 | 1,464.9 | |
| 2013 | 308.4 | 20.4 | 1,201.4 | 1,509.8 | Nissan Leaf/ Jag F-Type arrive |
| 2014 | 247.9 | 21.9 | 884.1 | 1,132.0 | |
| 2014 Jan-Sep | |||||
Ford and Peugeot both left and MGR folded. That should have been the
death knell of the industry but Nissan in particular saw the benefits of
both designing and increasing production within Britain. With
Jaguar/Land Rover enjoying a period of success too, volume is holding.
However, while some talk up the situation regarding future growth, I am
unsure. Of course the new XE Jaguar will add to total production, but
apart from that I don't see any immediate change of note. Honda sales in
Europe are down and Toyota hasn't committed to do more with it's UK
operation. GM's production is always an uncertainty. BMW MINI will be
stable and Nissan has done just about all it can.
Summary: What could have been a disaster has turned into a
partial success. More local support would help, as would an investment
by another car maker (unlikely). What is there is good for the UK and
Europe.
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| The Range Rover Evoque a big hit from day one |
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