UK car production dropped in April

UK car production dropped in April compared with the same month in 2014.

Robust demand at home wasn’t enough to offset the decline in exports.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), production fell 3.8 percent to 128,312 cars last month.

The number of cars built for sale in the UK increased 11.1 percent to 29,930 vehicles, while models built for sale in markets overseas dropped 7.6 percent to 98,382.

British car sales have recovered and are back to around pre-recession levels, but the same can’t be said for many other EU countries.

In addition, exports have been hit by cooling Chinese demand, the UK’s biggest non-EU market, and a drop in Russian demand – since sanctions were imposed over the Ukraine crisis.

Jaguar Land Rover operates three vehicle manufacturing plants in the UK.

Despite the poor performance of overseas markets, the SMMT still expects British output to rise over the next few years.

“Manufacturers across the country are poised to see yet more growth following multi-billion pound investments and, providing global markets perform well, output is on track to reach record levels in the next few years,” SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said.

The UK produced 1.53 million cars in 2014 and is expected to build a record 1.95 million in 2017.