production

UK car production drop to lowest since 1956

By Betty C. Morrow 7 months ago
car production

Car production in the UK saw its worst year since 1956 in 2021, with only 859,575 built. Photo:Phil Noble/Reuters

Car production in the UK last year plummeted to its lowest level since 1956, with parts shortage, staff absences and factory closures all battering the automotive industry.

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed output dropped by 6.7% to 859,575 cars made in the UK in 2021 – over 61,000 less than 2020 and a fall of 34% compared to 2019, when over 1.3m cars rolled off the production lines.

Read more: Treasury Committee report: UK tax burden to rise to record levels

The ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips – between 1,500 and 3,000 of which are used in the manufacturing of a typical modern car – was the main problem, causing factories to reduce or even pause production.

“2021 was another incredibly difficult year for

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Almost 10m less cars built in 2021 as supply chain issues hit production

By Betty C. Morrow 8 months ago

Nearly 10m fewer cars were built this year due to supply chain issues and a semiconductor shortage, analysts say.

Research by market intelligence group LMC Automotive estimated a 9.6m global shortfall in the number of light vehicles produced through 2021. European carmakers are expected to have suffered the biggest hit, producing 3m fewer vehicles as they struggled to get hold of supplies.

Semiconductors have been one of the biggest pain points in global supply chains, with delays, production disruption and hoarding spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic leading to a severe shortage.

The crisis is still running, LMC said, with the situation for car makers unlikely to substantially improve until the second half of 2022, and the gulf between chip demand and supply taking until 2023 to close.

Justin Cox, the group’s head of global production, said the outlook had improved slightly in recent weeks as emergency measures boosted production.

“I

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Car production curbs hit TomTom amid chip shortage

By Betty C. Morrow 10 months ago

(Reuters) – Dutch navigation and digital mapping company TomTom warned on Thursday supply chain problems in the auto sector could last until the first half of next year after it reported a bigger than expected quarterly core loss.

FILE PHOTO: TomTom logo is seen on a vehicle in Eindhoven, Netherlands, November 21, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File Photo

Auto production has been hammered by a global shortage in semiconductor chips, which has forced carmakers still recovering from last year’s coronavirus disruptions to halt production again.

“Collectively we have underestimated how big the supply chain issues, and especially for semiconductor shortages, have been or have become”, Chief Financial Officer Taco Titulaer told Reuters.

Titulaer added TomTom’s consumer and automotive revenue numbers would continue to be affected by these challenges.

The group said the recovery of its automotive division, which supplies maps and navigation software to carmakers, lagged expectations as it saw sales fall

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Car production tumbles afresh amid supply and labour shortages

By Betty C. Morrow 12 months ago






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Car production tumbled in the UK for the first time since February as the combination of global chip shortages, workers being forced to isolate, and summer shutdowns jammed up factory lines.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), just 53,438 cars were made in July, down 37.6 per cent on the year before.

It is the worst July for auto output since 1956, when 51,472 cars were produced.

Over a quarter – 26.0 per cent – of all cars made last month were either battery electric (BEV), plug in hybrid (PHEV) or hybrid electric (HEV), their highest share on record.

Despite the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions earlier this summer, the car industry has been plagued by a number of supply and labour issues that have hammered production.

All year car firms have been warning that the shortage of semiconductors would force them

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