Jaguar UK's largest car maker 21 | 01 | 2016
BRITAIN BUILT MORE cars last year than in any of the past 10 years, as exports also hit an all-time record high as the automotive industry continues to expand in the UK. And the figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) also confirmed that Jaguar Land Rover has overtaken long-time leader Nissan to become the UK’s biggest car manufacturer.
It's the first time JLR has held the coveted position in the combined 70-year history of its constituent companies. Figures from the SMMT show JLR’s production rose 50,400 units (or 9%) to 489,923 units, beating Nissan (whose production declined 4.7% to 476,589) by 13,334 units. Nissan's Sunderland plant — which is 30 years old this year — still remains the largest car factory in UK manufacturing history, however.
The car making success of Jaguar comes as a result of £11 billion of investment since Tata took control of the company in 2009. At that time, annual production stood at 158,000 units.
In that time the firm's workforce has also doubled, to 35,000 UK workers. The firm has also announced plans to invest more than £3 billion in UK facilities during the 2015/2016 fiscal year.
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“Britain is the beating heart of our business, so becoming the country’s largest vehicle manufacturer is a remarkable achievement, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to the UK manufacturing sector," Wolfgang Stadler, JLR's executive director of manufacturing, said.
“2015 was a challenging year for the industry against a backdrop of socio economic instability, but it is a testament to our strong product range and dedicated team of employees that Jaguar Land Rover has delivered year on year growth, with more exciting products to come.”
JLR, who was last week named the best place to work in Britain by Bloomberg, delivered record sales in its home market in 2015 with over 100,000 vehicles registered for the first time in its history. This strong performance was also reflected in the US, where Land Rover was named the fastest growing car brand in the country. More than 80% of JLR’s UK based production is exported to over 160 markets and this year the company will see further new products including the Jaguar F-Pace and Range Rover Evoque Convertible hit its global network of retailers.
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Today's figures also confirmed Britain is edging closer to the all-time production record of 1.92 million cars, set in 1972, which the SMMT has previously said it expects carmakers to eclipse in the next four years. Last year, total sales of UK-built cars rose 3.9% to 1,587,677 units.
"Despite export challenges in some key markets such as Russia and China, foreign demand for British-built cars has been strong, reaching record export levels in the past year," Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said.
"Achieving these hard fought for results is down to vital investment in the sector, world class engineering and a committed and skilled UK workforce – one of the most productive in the world.
“Continued growth in an intensely competitive global marketplace is far from guaranteed, however, and depends heavily on global economic conditions and political stability. Europe is our biggest trading partner and the UK’s membership of the European Union is vital for the automotive sector in order to secure future growth and jobs.”
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Jim McGill