LONDON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Britain's automotive production registered the second rise in the year to date in August, but the prospect is volatile amid pressure derived from the protectionist policies of the European Union (EU).
The country's vehicle production rose 5.7 percent year on year to 40,872 units in August, according to data released Wednesday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
However, it said August is a low output month and subject to volatility given summer shutdown schedules.
Car production recorded its strongest increase since December 2025, rising 6.1 percent to 39,328 units. The output for the domestic market surged 26 percent, while that for export edged up 1.4 percent.
Exports to Australia posted the strongest growth in its top 10 markets, while those to the EU, its largest overseas destination that accounts for 54.1 percent of all the exports, fell 7.4 percent, according to the SMMT.
Despite the small uptick in production in August, the long-term trend remains downwards, said Peter Wells, a leading expert on the automotive industry at Cardiff University, noting Britain's automotive production has more or less halved in the last seven or eight years.
"There is still an underlying concern about the structure and position of the UK automotive industry," he commented, adding that more than 75 percent of Britain's automotive output is exported but some of its export markets have become notably more difficult, for example, the United States.
The flow of investment into Britain's automotive manufacturing is a more significant indicator of the sector's long-term prospects, according to the SMMT. September's announcements by both specialist and mass market manufacturers amounted to more than 1 billion pounds (1.32 billion U.S. dollars), demonstrating international confidence in the British sector as countries are competing ever more aggressively to attract industrial investment, it said.
"I think it's a positive sign for the industry that inward investment or investment indigenously is still accumulating," Wells said, adding that the automotive industry has always been capital intensive, both for manufacturing and for new models.
The SMMT also underlined that pressure on the sector persists as EU policymakers progress the Industrial Accelerator Act and its "Made in Europe" proposals, rendering Britain-built vehicles uncompetitive in their largest global market.
Since British manufacturing generates 24 billion euros (31.6 billion dollars) of economic activity in the EU supply chain and supports a quarter of a million jobs across the bloc, rules designed to strengthen Europe's automotive sector risk weakening the very industry they seek to protect, it said.
"The UK and EU automotive industries are deeply integrated, so effectively excluding British-produced vehicles from their largest market would assure mutual damage," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes commented.
He called for both sides to urgently agree practical fixes to protect jobs, preserve shared competitiveness and keep the EU and British industry moving. ■
