Year-to-date commercial vehicle output at 14-year high

In the year to date, UK commercial vehicle output has risen 5.8% on 2023 with 78,805 units produced, making the year to date the best performance in 14 years, according to SMMT data.

Volumes are also up a massive 72.3% on 2019 levels – driven by exports, up 12.0%, with 52,389 units shipped overseas. Output for the domestic market, however, fell -4.7% to 26,416 units.

This is despite August commercial vehicle manufacturing falling -10.0% in August, with 6,044 units rolled out of UK factories.

However, due to August being a low output month due to the traditional ‘summer shutdown’, this was equivalent to just 673 fewer units with year to date volumes still 8.8% up on 2019’s pre-pandemic output.

Exports continued to dominate output, with a very marginal decline of just -0.2%, a year on year loss of just seven vehicles. More than half of output (59.3%) was produced for overseas markets, with the EU receiving the lion’s share (97.2%). Production for the UK, meanwhile, declined by -21.3% to 2,457 units.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "A best year-to-date performance since 2010 is fantastic news and a testament to manufacturers’ dedication alongside strong demand overseas for British-built commercial vehicles. While volumes in the month were down, this aligns with expectations as output adjusts and stabilises to the backlog following the pandemic. To boost the confidence of both operator and manufacturer, the industry will now work with government to ensure market conditions remain favourable and decarbonisation remains on top of the agenda – for cars and CVs alike."