Ford
Motor Company’s Dagenham Engine Plant (DEP) is the top UK engine supply source
but overall the company has seen its output of UK-built engines steadily decline from
1.75 million in 2008 to 1.7 million in 2011 and in 2012 to 1.55 million.
Nearly 2.5 million engines
were made in the UK last year according to the SMMT’s Motor Industry Facts 2013.
The total of 2,495,371 was just shy of the 2,504,054 built in 2011, but well
short of the 3,164,569 the industry built in 2008.
Top performer in the UK was
DEP with 812,791 units (981,078 in 2011 and 1,047,570 in 2008 – its best year.)
Strangely, both Jaguar and
Land Rover refuse to reveal to journalists how many vehicles sold in 2012 were
powered by diesel engines. The V6 and V8 diesels are sourced from Ford. Both of
Tata Motors’ carmakers also fit 2.2-litre I4 diesel engines.
Ford’s Bridgend Engine
Plant (BEP) came in second spot with a steady performance of 741,754 units
(714,709 in 2011 and 704,181 in 2008.)
All told, Ford made
1,554,545 engines in 2012 compared with 1,695,787 in 2011 and 1,751,751 in
2008.
BMW’s Hams Hall engine
plant in the West Midlands turned out only 385,410 units in 2012 compared with
433,839 units in 2011 – its best year. In 2008 it produced 371,269 units.
Nissan Motor Manufacturing’s
engine plant on Tyneside doubled its output, making 267, 839 engines in 2012 –
its best year in five years. The figure is double the 135,958 units shown for
2011. The plant made 112,829 units in 2008.
In 2012, with just 154,228
engines built, Honda Motor Manufacturing in Swindon improved on the 97,368
engines built in 2011, but fell short of the 2008 total – its best year in five
years – of 203,647 units.
In sixth spot came Toyota
Motor Manufacturing’s engine plant at Deeside, North Wales, founded in 1992
and, like Honda with its own aluminium casting facility. Toyota made 124,241
units – half the output declared for 2008 with 297,398 units. In 2011, SMMT
figures showed Toyota made 127,724 engines,
But by far the best
performance came from Bentley, owned by Volkswagen AG, which delivered 9,108 engines
compared with 7,528 in 2011 – a hike of 21 per cent. In 2008 Bentley made 7,675
engines.
Of course, only the engine
makes know the real works unit costs of their engines.
