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As Europe’s fourth largest manufacturer of cars, a major international producer of engines and components and a leader in automotive R&D, engineering, design and development, the UK motor industry will be out in force at this week’s Geneva motor show.

The facts and figures below, prepared by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), demonstrate the growing importance of UK automotive:

Economy

• Manufacturing growth is driving economic recovery.
• Automotive turnover accounts for two thirds of the UK’s overall manufacturing total.
• Typical UK automotive turnover is around £50bn.
• UK automotive represents around 3% of total GDP.
• Annual net value-added to the economy in excess of £10bn.
• The industry employs over 700,000 people.

Manufacturing

• The UK is home to:
  o Seven volume car manufacturers.
  o 10 commercial vehicle manufacturers.
  o Eight bus and coach manufacturers.
  o More than 10 niche and specialist vehicle manufacturers.
  o Eight Formula One teams.
• Over one million vehicles and two million engines are produced in the UK each year.
• Automotive manufacturing levels are set grow to pre-recession levels by 2014.
• More than 75% of vehicles manufactured in the UK are exported.
• Pre-recession new car production in 2007 (1,534,567 units) showed a 73% increase on the 1982 low of 887,679 units.

Business environment

• The UK is the number one European country in Business Monitor’s latest rankings of ‘Business Environment’.
• The Automotive Council is a partnership between industry and government overseeing the strategic direction of the UK motor industry.

Eco Credentials

• Since 2000, CO2 emissions of new cars registered in the UK have fallen by 20%.
• Emissions from the entire UK car parc have fallen by 7.8% despite the number of cars on the road growing by more than 10%.
• The reduction of CO2 output for UK vehicles is consistently quicker than the European average.