A Nissan Leaf on the forecourt of a dealership in Lincoln, U.Ok.
Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Automotive manufacturing within the U.Ok. slumped by 6.7% to only 859,575 items in 2021, new figures printed by the Society of Motor Producers and Merchants present.
In an announcement Thursday, the SMMT mentioned the output represented the “worst whole since 1956” and was 34% decrease than 2019, the yr earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Whereas the headline figures for 2021 are disappointing — the SMMT pinpointed the semiconductor scarcity as being the “principal explanation for the decline” — the low and zero-emission phase of the sector offered some gentle amid the gloom.
The SMMT mentioned that British factories manufactured a report quantity of battery electrical, hybrid electrical and plug-in hybrid autos in 2021, with a complete of 224,011 being made. This represents a 26.1% share of all vehicles produced final yr.
“Extra positively, the shift to electrified automobile manufacture continued apace as BEV manufacturing surged 72.0%,” the SMMT mentioned, “whereas hybrids rose 16.4%, because the UK business — just like the market — transforms right into a low and, in the end, zero-carbon business.”
The U.Ok. needs to cease the sale of latest diesel and gasoline vehicles and vans by 2030. It should require, from 2035, all new vehicles and vans to have zero tailpipe emissions. The duty is big and the sector remains to be dominated by autos operating on fossil fuels.
Though the market has been considerably affected by the pandemic, prospects’ habits might nonetheless be on the verge of a big change.
A report 190,727 new battery electrical vehicles have been registered within the U.Ok. final yr, in accordance with the SMMT, with Tesla’s Mannequin 3 the best-selling battery electrical mannequin. Certainly, the Model 3 was the second most popular new car overall behind the Vauxhall Corsa, the business physique says.
In a launch earlier this month, the SMMT described 2021 because the “most profitable yr in historical past for electrical automobile uptake.” It mentioned that extra new battery electrical autos had been registered in 2021 than over the 5 earlier years mixed.
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