Booming car industry boosts Shropshire suppliers

New figures reveal three cars were built in the UK every minute in the first six months of the year after the best half-yearly production output since 2008.

A total of 793,642 cars were built between January and June, up by 0.3 per cent on a year ago, reported the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The figure for June was 143,759, an increase of 5.4 per cent on the same month last year, with production for export (up nine per cent) outperforming that for the domestic market (down 7.1 per cent) – a reversal of the trend seen in previous months.

The SMMT added that car manufacturing achieved £100,000 in value added per employee in 2014 compared with £74,000 in 2010 – a 35 per cent increase, and twice as much as the average for UK workers.

The figures provide a boost not only to the major car manufacturers in the area – including Jaguar Land Rover in the West Midlands and Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port – but to companies in the local supply chain providing parts.

Stadco, heating and air conditioning firm Denso and GKN, three major parts manufacturers in Hadley Park in Telford, are among the companies to benefit from the continued strength of the industry.

Pressings specialist Stadco has invested heavily in its plants in Telford and Shrewsbury recently to accommodate the expansion in sales of cars among UK-based manufacturers.

Production volumes are up more than 50 per cent since 2009 and "significant" investments are planned, with new models set to hit production lines in the coming months, showing the UK car industry growing on a global scale, said the SMMT.

Chief executive Mike Hawes said: "Today's figures are testament to the ever-increasing demand for the diverse, high-quality range of cars we make in the UK. The sector is ahead of the game on productivity, with investment in efficient, high-tech manufacturing processes and a highly-skilled workforce resulting in huge gains over the past decade.

"This success has been built on significant industry investment and has also relied on a positive relationship with government, essential if the industry is to maintain its international competitiveness."

The figures come despite a slowdown in the crucial Chinese market, which had provided a hunting ground for the likes of JLR in recent years.

Overall sales figures for JLR were flat in June compared to the same month a year ago, thanks to stronger sales in Europe, but Jaguar sales fell by more than 67 per cent in China.