Cars manufactured in Britain are becoming more British, according to a new Automotive Council study released today. The report, Growing the Automotive Supply Chain – Local Vehicle Content Analysis, shows that 44% of all components used by UK car makers now come from domestic suppliers, compared with 41% in 2015 when the study was last carried out.
The key findings of the report are:
- The amount of locally sourced parts is a key measure of success for the UK automotive industry as the majority of the sector’s value-added is created in the upstream supply chain.
- In value terms, the parts sourced by UK car manufacturers from UK first-tier suppliers has increased from 36% in 2011, to 44% in 2017.
- In addition to the relative growth in local vehicle content, passenger car production in the UK grew by 38% during that period. This leads to a compound growth of 60% by value sourced from UK first-tier suppliers between 2011 and 2017.
- The overall growth in UK parts production (domestic and export volumes) is also reflected in the official ONS turnover and trade statistics.
- There are no valid data points to benchmark the UK’s position against its peers, although anecdotal reports suggest that countries such as Germany and France achieve up to 60% local content.
- This is likely to be the highest level of local content that is realistically achievable.
View the full report here
