UK car vehicle production falls amid global economic and trade uncertainty
According to the organisation, production was slowed or halted by some manufacturers due to uncertainty around the global economy and earlier threats of US tariffs.
However, the SMMT said a new trade deal struck between Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump would become a 'basis for future growth'.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the numbers were 'very disappointing'.
'Global economic uncertainty and trade protectionism have taken their toll on automotive production across the globe, with the UK no exception,' he said.
'The figures are not, therefore, unexpected but remain very disappointing. However, there are foundations for a return to growth.'
While overall car production declined, the number of electric cars made in the UK rose by 1.8%, with EVs now making up a record 41.5% of all cars produced in the UK in the first half of 2025.
'The industry is moving to the technologies that will be the future of mobility, our engineering excellence, highly-skilled workforce and global reputation are strengths, and we have an Industrial Strategy with advanced manufacturing and automotive at its core,' Mr Hawes said.
'With rapid delivery and the right conditions, UK Automotive can reverse the current decline and deliver the jobs, economic growth and decarbonisation that Britain needs.'
Grants for new electric cars are being reintroduced after being scrapped in June 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced recently.
Drivers will be able to reduce the purchase cost of a new electric car by up to £3,750.
Officials hope the measure – restricted to vehicles priced at up to £37,000 – will encourage more drivers to switch to electric motoring.
The DfT said 33 new electric car models are available for less than £30,000.
The Government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: 'This EV grant will not only allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money – it'll help our automotive sector seize one of the biggest opportunities of the 21st century.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Nightmare' tariff wall emerges for US companies
Donald Trump took the trade world by storm when he returned to office, announcing new and higher tariffs on imports, starting with goods from China and quickly spreading to almost every country in the the confusion from the threats, negotiations, climb-downs and carve-outs starts to clear, a new economic landscape is emerging. Trump is building a steep, and often expensive, wall of tariffs, the likes of which has not existed in the US for more than a century."It's been an absolute nightmare," said Jared Hendricks, owner of the Utah-based Village Lighting Company, who took out a $1.5m (£1.1m) loan backed by his home earlier this year to cover the unexpected jump in his April, most goods coming into the US have faced taxes of at least 10%. The pause on some of Trump's plans to levy even higher tariffs is now coming to an end, and larger taxes are set to start on 1 things that may cost Americans more after Trump's tariffsWho are the winners and losers in US-EU trade deal?Faisal Islam: Trump's tough tariff tactics are getting resultsIn recent weeks, Trump has sent letters to some countries outlining his planned tariffs on goods from their countries. He has also reached agreements, described as "frameworks", with major trading partners, including the European Union and Japan, that leave key issues unresolved while establishing levies that were once general, goods coming into the US are to be taxed 10% to 50%, depending on their origin, compared to an average tariff rate of less than 2.5% at the start of the Trump has dropped some of his most extreme threats, his plans still represent a "dramatic shift", one poised to be "significantly disruptive", said Wendy Cutler, senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute."We're definitely in a tariff world," she said the measures - delivering on a top campaign promise - have been "unbelievable".They are bringing back US manufacturing, he said, opening up overseas markets and raising money for the US government - which has already collected more than $100bn in tariff revenue this fiscal year, a record. He is also using them to push other countries on a range of non-trade issues, including military spending and social media."We have the hottest country of anywhere in the world," he said recently. Mr Hendricks, who employs about a dozen people, though, said the new levies had created a range of challenges for his business selling Christmas lights and decor mostly made in southeast is expecting many of his shipments to arrive after 1 August. He struggled to compete with bigger players also pressing suppliers and shipping firms to deliver before the deadline. The new costs hit during the off-season, when he has little money coming says US may not reach trade deal with CanadaHow are trade deals actually negotiated? "A hundred billion dollars in tariffs and they're celebrating that?" he said. "That's on the backs of people like me that are now trying to figure out how to pay payroll."Larger businesses, too, say the tariffs already are hurting their bottom lines, even though the White House has granted some exemptions and the full plans have yet to come into Motors recently told investors it paid more than $1bn in tariffs from the beginning of April through the end of June, despite carve-outs for car parts from Mexico and Canada. Tesla spent an extra $ Hasbro and Mattel expect tariffs to cost tens of millions this year and have reduced their sales forecasts, while aerospace manufacturer RTX, formerly Raytheon, said the measures would cost it $500m, after mitigation efforts. Executives in some industries, like steel, say the new protections will boost domestic demand for their products. Labor unions have backed parts of Trump's plans, economists still expect the levies to lead to slower growth in the US, as company profits take a hit. Firms must then cut back on investing or risk hurting sales by raising prices, or a Los Angeles shop that employs about 30 people in the US selling Japanese-made products like kitchen knives and incense, has already started raising prices 10% to 20%.Executive Vice-President Anri Seki said sales were holding up and, after months of uncertainty, she hoped the business would be able to move the back-and-forth has pushed the firm to consider looking outside the US to made America's clothing. Now they are getting punished for US-EU trade deal in numbers - how it compares to UK dealDespite efforts in Japan and the US to sell a deal on a 15% tariff as positive, she said the outcome was disappointing."It just feels unfair," she said. "It's really hard for everyone to see what is the good ending point."Recently, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated the tariffs would lower US growth by 1 percentage point this shares in the US have soared to new highs, as fears that gripped financial markets after Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariff announcement in April have confidence has picked up, prices have remained contained and the job market is still of that is from earlier uncertainty being resolved, said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Budget Lab at Yale University, who predicts the levies will shave about 0.8 percentage points off growth this year."There is a vast valley between 'good' and 'recession'," he said. "There's this middle ground of 'not great'...And I think that is what we're looking at with tariffs."But Tim Quinlan, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said people may be underestimating risks. Consumer spending on discretionary services, like taxi rides or air travel, slipped in the first five months of the year – something that has only happened during or immediately after recessions, he said that did not necessarily mean "a recession is around the corner", but cautioned it had "raised doubts about the ability of the consumer to continue to underpin the economy". With stockpiles of goods that pre-date the tariffs dwindling and 1 August looming, the full effects of the measures will be felt in months ahead."People have sort of moved on, but now they're going to be reinstated in August it's going to be right back where we were," said Julie Robbins, chief executive of Earthquaker Devices, an Ohio-based manufacturer of guitar business, which employs about 34 people, has held off hiring and delayed purchases this year, as its profits erode and costs climb. It plans to raise prices, but isn't sure how sales outside the US – about 40% of the business – have dropped, which Ms Robbins attributes to backlash against Americans, at least partly over tariffs."I view the tariffs and the current trade war policy as the largest threat to our business," she said. "There are so many ways this could go sideways."
Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Trump tells 'Sir Flip Flop' Keir Starmer how to see off Farage: US President tells PM to cut taxes and tackle 'ruinous' immigration if he ever wants to bury Reform UK in the polls
Donald Trump yesterday told Keir Starmer to cut taxes and stop the boats if he wants to defeat Nigel Farage. The US President offered Sir Keir his 'simple' formula for defeating the Reform leader – now riding high in the polls – at an extraordinary joint press conference in Scotland. But he warned it would mean cutting taxes, which Labour has raised to the highest level in modern history. And he said Labour would have to cut Britain's 'ruinous' immigration, including ending the Channel crisis to prevent thousands of 'bad people' entering the country illegally. The unsolicited advice came during a chaotic event in front of the TV cameras at Mr Trump's Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire, at which Sir Keir was repeatedly left squirming. President Trump criticised his focus on wind energy as 'disastrous' – and described Labour's London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan as a 'nasty person'. Mr Trump told Sir Keir that 'politics is pretty simple' as he offered him advice on how to emerge on top in 'the thing going on between you and Nigel [Farage]'. He added: 'Generally speaking, the one who cuts taxes the most, the one who gives you the lowest energy prices, the best kind of energy, the one that keeps you out of wars... a few basics... And in your case a big immigration component.' Mr Trump, a long-time friend of Mr Farage, said he liked both men, adding: 'I think the one that's toughest and most competent on immigration is going to win the election, but then you add... low taxes, and you add the economy. '[Sir Keir] did a great thing with the economy, because a lot of money is going to come in because of the [US trade] deal that was made. But I think that immigration is now bigger than ever before.' Almost 20,000 people crossed the Channel illegally in the first six months of this year – a rise of 50 per cent on the same period in 2024. Mr Trump, who put border control at the heart of his winning election campaign last year, warned that the level of migration to the UK was 'ruinous'. He warned that the small boats crossing the Channel were usually 'loaded up with bad people... because other countries don't send their best, they send people that they don't want. 'This is a magnificent part of the world, and you cannot ruin it, you cannot let people come here illegally'. On a day of high-level talks: ■ Sir Keir said the British public are 'revolted' by the scenes of desperate hunger in Gaza, as he prepared for an emergency briefing of the Cabinet this afternoon on a 'peace plan' which will put Britain on the road to recognising a Palestinian state. ■ President Trump pledged action to 'get the children fed' in Gaza, saying: 'That's real starvation stuff... you can't fake that'; ■ Mr Trump set a new deadline of 'ten to 12' days for Vladimir Putin to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine; ■ He warned against the Government's inheritance tax raid on farmers, saying he had scrapped similar plans in the US following a string of suicides; ■ He praised King Charles, and spoke of his love of the UK and enthusiasm for a September state visit; ■ Mr Trump savaged Labour's obsession with wind farms, saying the UK was paying 'massive subsidies to have these ugly monsters all over the place'. Yesterday's talks came during a 'private' four-day trip to Scotland during which Mr Trump has held meetings with a number of leading political figures while visiting his two golf courses in the country. In a highly unusual encounter, Mr Trump effectively acted as host to Sir Keir in his own country, with the PM forced to make a 400-mile pilgrimage to Scotland to build on an unlikely 'bromance'. An hour-long press conference was humiliating at times for the PM. During one excruciating exchange, Mr Trump said Sir Sadiq was a 'nasty person' who had done a 'terrible job'. Sir Keir also had to endure a public lecture on the importance of cutting taxes, which Mr Trump said was key to UK growth – and Labour's electoral fortunes. Referring to Sir Keir, who raised taxes by a record £40billion last year and is expected to raise them again in the autumn, he added: 'The Prime Minister hasn't been here very long. I think he will be a tax cutter.' Government sources last night insisted that the trip had proved worthwhile as Sir Keir tries to galvanize international action behind a plan to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. A source said President Trump was 'very forward leaning on getting aid in'. No 10 was also cheered by Mr Trump's warm language towards Sir Keir. Later Sir Keir flew with Mr Trump in Air Force One from Glasgow airport to a private dinner in Aberdeen. They were due to land at RAF Lossiemouth, because Aberdeen airport's runway is too short for the 747.
The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump hosts Starmer and Swinney for dinner at Aberdeenshire golf course
Donald Trump is hosting Sir Keir Starmer and John Swinney for dinner at his Aberdeenshire golf course during his four-day trip to Scotland. Scottish First Minister Mr Swinney plans to make the case for tariff relief on whisky and salmon to the US president directly. Sir Keir, meanwhile, travelled on Marine One with Mr Trump to Menie, Aberdeenshire, where he is due to open a new course on Tuesday. Demonstrators gathered in the nearby village of Balmedie to protest against Mr Trump's visit. A Scottish Government spokesperson said Mr Swinney would 'make the case for tariff exemptions for Scotland's world-class whisky and salmon sector directly with the president'. Asked earlier about tariffs on whisky, Mr Trump had said: 'We'll talk about that, I didn't know whisky was a problem. I'm not a big whisky drinker but maybe I should be.' Sir Keir arrived with Mr Trump on the president's helicopter on Monday evening following talks at his other golf course in Turnberry, South Ayrshire. They were greeted by a pipe band from Robert Gordon College, who played Scotland The Brave and were saluted by Mr Trump. Mr Trump had earlier spoken of his 'great love' for Scotland and said he wanted to see the nation 'thrive'. Sir Keir and the US president agreed in an earlier meeting that 'urgent action' is needed in Gaza and discussed Ukraine, trade and Mr Trump's upcoming state visit. Sir Keir shared plans to secure peace in the Middle East that he has been preparing with France and Germany, Downing Street said. It came after they took questions for more than an hour at Turnberry. The US president praised Sir Keir Starmer as a 'tax cutter' who did a 'great thing with the economy', and hailed both Sir Keir and Nigel Farage as 'great men'. 'I happen to like both men. I like this man (Sir Keir) a lot, and I like Nigel. 'And, you know, I don't know the politics over here. I don't know where they stand. I would say one is slightly liberal – not that liberal, slightly – and the other one is slightly conservative, but they're both good men.' He added: '(Sir Keir) did a great thing with the economy, because a lot of money is going to come in because of the deal that was made. But I think that immigration is now bigger than ever before,' he said. The president had earlier said he thinks Sir Keir, who has been in office for more than a year, will be 'a tax cutter'. Mr Trump was asked about trade talks under way to give the UK relief from his tariff regime for goods entering the US from other nations. He said he had 'a very big plan on pharmaceuticals' when asked if a planned import levy on medicines would affect the UK. 'We want to bring a lot of the pharmaceuticals back to America, where they should be,' he said. He later added: 'You also have a good pharmaceutical business – we'll be dealing with you on pharmaceuticals also – and we certainly feel a lot better with your country working on pharmaceuticals for America than some of the other countries that were … with the relationship we have, you would not use that as a cudgel. You wouldn't be using it as a block.' During the same press conference, Mr Trump described the Labour London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan as a 'nasty person' who has done 'a terrible job'. The Prime Minister intervened to say: 'He's a friend of mine, actually.' The question session inside the president's Turnberry resort came after he suggested that the UK is 'doing a fantastic thing' in trying to reduce immigration by small boat crossings. Mr Trump said he knows 'nothing about the boats' when asked about the issue but said 'my hats are off to you' if the UK is trying to reduce immigration. Sir Keir and his wife Lady Starmer were greeted by the president and a chorus of bagpipes as they arrived in South Ayrshire on Monday. When Mr Trump was asked about how he would deal with small boats, Sir Keir explained that it refers to people who are crossing the Channel. Mr Trump told reporters: 'If you're stopping immigration and stopping the wrong people … my hats are off to you. You're doing, not a good thing, you're doing a fantastic thing. 'So, I know nothing about the boats, but if the boats are loaded up with bad people, and they usually are, because, you know, other countries don't send their best, they send people that they don't want, and they're not stupid people, and they send the people that they don't want.' Turning to the Prime Minister, Mr Trump added: 'And I've heard that you've taken a much stronger stance on this.' The latest data from the Home Office indicates that 122 people crossed the Channel in small boats on Saturday. Around a hundred protesters gathered earlier at the Balmedie demonstration, with a few remaining as the US president arrived at his golf course.
