The UK’s motoring industry is in good health after it was announced that more than £2bn worth of investment has been pumped into the sector in 2015 already. Much of the investment has been in Research & Development and production facilities.
During the first half of this year, more cars were produced in the UK since the first half of 2008, meaning a car rolls off the production line every 20 seconds. This growth has lead to the creation of a further 4500 new jobs this year. The industry now supports almost 800,000 jobs across the country. Of these, 160,000 are directly employed within the manufacturing sector.
The appetite for British-built cars is strong around the globe; car exports now account for 11.8% of Britain’s total exports, to more than 100 countries, contributing £24.6 billion to the UK economy last year alone. Demand in 2014 from Europe grew by 11.8% and continues to be the UK’s largest export market.
At a gathering of government officials, indicatory leaders and UK manufacturers in Greenwich today, business secretary Sajid Javid said: “The automotive industry is a UK success story with government and industry working closely to boost productivity and growth. Not only do we build cars extremely well, but our research and development and design capabilities are equally as impressive.”
The event was attended by Aston Martin, Bentley, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, Nissan, Rolls-Royce, Toyota and Vauxhall and was a send-off for manufacturers on their way to next week’s Frankfurt motor show.
By Matthew Griffiths
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