UK car output slumps on China slowdown, Brexit

The number of cars built in Britain tumbled almost a fifth in January, industry data showed yesterday, rocked by China’s slowdown and the threat of a no-deal Brexit. In a gloomy plot twist, James Bond’s favourite carmaker Aston Martin revealed plans to set aside up to £30 million ($40 million, 35 million euros) to help weather potential Brexit disruption.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) meanwhile said UK car production dived 18.2 pe rcent to 120,649 vehicles last month compared with a year earlier. That was the eighth successive monthly decline and marks the latest dose of bad news for Britain’s beleaguered car sector. Output destined for China collapsed by 72.3pc and the European Union by 20pc, the SMMT revealed. Overall exports tanked 21.4pc to 93,781 vehicles.

Britain’s largely for - eign-owned automobile industry is suffering also because of simmering US-China trade tensions and weak demand for high-polluting diesel cars -- which face tighter regulation worldwide. Turning to Brexit, the SMMT urged British Prime Minister Theresa May to take “no deal” off the table “immediately and permanently”.

‘Clear and present danger’

“Another month of decline is a serious concern,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said in Thursday’s statement. “The industry faces myriad challenges, from falling demand in key markets, to escalating global trade tensions and the need to stay at the forefront of future technology. Hawes added: “Every day a no-deal Brexit remains a possibility is another day automotive companies pay the price in additional and potentially pointless costs. “No deal must be taken off the table immediately and permanently.”