The industry body’s 17th annual Sustainability Report has revealed that the automotive manufacturing sector turned over a record £71.6 billion in 2015. Jobs, production output and vehicle sales all grew while the environmental impact of manufacturing saw significant reductions. Waste from production was cut by almost a quarter, and water and energy use per vehicle produced were also reduced.
The SMMT said: “Access to the single market and EU-negotiated international trade deals, the ability to recruit talent internationally and influence new standards all helped make the UK automotive industry one of the world’s most competitive. This has helped attract billions of pounds in investment in recent years, delivering record productivity, job creation and growth.”
The record turnover by automotive manufacturers represents a 7.3% increase on 2014, with the additional value generated for the UK economy standing at some £18.9 billion – itself a 3.8% rise on the previous year. Investment in R&D by the industry also reached a record high of £2.5 billion in 2015, which now represents some 12% of the country’s total R&D spend.
The figures are further evidence of the UK’s status as a global automotive leader, as production and sales of UK-built vehicles continue to grow both at home and abroad. The strong performance has been matched by growth in employment, with 814,000 people across the UK now dependent on the sector as a whole for a job – a substantial increase of 17,000 over the previous year. Those employed directly in manufacturing, meanwhile, grew from 161,000 to 169,000, with the average manufacturing worker generating more than £110,000 in value-added to the British economy.3
The sector’s strong social and economic performance has been achieved while simultaneously delivering substantial reductions in its environmental impact. 41% less waste was sent to landfill in 2015 than in the previous year, while the amount of water used to make each vehicle fell to a new low – down by 7.6%, driven largely by improvements in painting processes. Meanwhile, the average new car registered in 2015 emitted 121.4g/km of CO2 – 2.6% less than in 2014.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “UK Automotive has gone from strength to strength, and is now delivering record turnover, record productivity and more jobs. These strong results go hand in hand with a steadfast commitment to improving our environmental performance, which is clearly demonstrated through reductions in CO2, waste and water use.
“This success has been due to unrestricted access to the single market, input to EU legislation to safeguard the interests of UK Automotive, and the ability to recruit talent from abroad. Our growth depends on certainty and continued open and reciprocal access to the 100-plus markets with which the UK automotive industry so successfully trades. This is not just finished cars but components, technologies and the wider automotive value chain. Any risks and uncertainty to these fundamental benefits need to be addressed head on by UK government.”
Click here to download the full report.
