According to the latest industry figures, the number of vehicles that were made in the UK in 2020 significantly decreased to the lowest total since 1984.
Falling by a third, the number of vehicles built during 2020 was a total of 920,928 – a 29.3 per cent decrease from 2019.
Mike Hawes, Chief of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, described this dip as a “dreadful year” for the industry and “the worst in a generation”. 
This drastic hit was due to the pandemic-enforced workplace and plant closures, combined with a decrease in consumer demand. 
However, Hawes is optimistic that the coronavirus vaccine roll-out and the EU trade deal will enable better production in 2021. 
Eight in ten UK-produced cars still get shipped overseas. Last year, in 2020, UK vehicle production for export markets decreased by 30.4 per cent and 29.1 per cent respectively. 
In 2020, the EU remained the UK’s biggest export destination, despite volumes falling 30.8 per cent to 400,460 units.
During the last month of 2020, output decreased by 2.3 per cent to 71,403 vehicles. Some manufactures, including Honda, were affected by border closures and ongoing component supply issues.
However, with worries surrounding climate change dominating, tackling this has become a priority, which leads experts to believe that car manufacturing needs a new perspective. 
Grant Shapps, the UK’s Transport Secretary, states that we need to combat climate change and air pollution by decreasing miles driven – which ultimately means buying and utilising fewer cars, as even electric car tyres and brakes can still cause air pollution.
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