UK engine output falls

Engine manufacture in the UK fell 5.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 to 660,255 units, down from 697,746 units in the same period of 2012.

UK engine manufacturing in March fell 6.0% to 220,032 units, from 234,038 in 2012. The figures come from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The slowdown in vehicle demand in Europe has constrained UK engine production. In the first quarter, the 2.6% rise in output for the home market was unable to offset a 9.8% fall in exports.

Significant investment in existing and new plants in the UK should help secure and expand engine manufacturing in the UK. This will be especially so when JaguarLandRover's new i54 engine facility in Wolverhampton comes on stream in 2014/2015. It will have the potential to machine and assemble over 300,000 engines a year.  

In the first quarter of 2013, exports totalled 405,973 – a drop of 9.8 per cent. The home market accounted for 254,282, a rise of 2.6 per cent. ∎