LONDON, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Britain's car manufacturing slumped in August, underscoring mounting pressures on the auto industry even before a cyberattack forced Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to extend a production halt.
Car production fell 10.2 percent from a year earlier to 37,072 units, while total output including vans, buses and trucks dropped 18.2 percent to 38,693 units -- the weakest August performance since 1956, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Thursday.
The decline was driven by a 14.2 percent slump in exports as demand softened in the European Union, Britain's largest overseas market, and trade frictions hit shipments to the United States. Production for the domestic market, by contrast, rose 11.5 percent, but failed to offset weak overseas sales.
One bright spot was the shift to greener technology: production of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles surged 40.9 percent to 16,830 units, nearly half of all cars built.
The sector's challenges deepened after Britain's largest automotive employer JLR said on Sept. 2 it had been hit by a "cyber incident," forcing an immediate systems shutdown. On Sept. 23, the company said it would keep production offline until Oct. 1 as it rebuilt systems with cybersecurity experts and Britain's National Cyber Security Centre.
The disruption has delayed payments, caused some suppliers to halt production and raised concerns about financial strain in the supply chain.
"August is always a low volume month due to planned summer maintenance, but the focus is now on September's performance and the likely impact of the cyberattack at Britain's biggest automotive employer," said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.
The industry is already grappling with high costs, model transitions and weak demand. Trade tensions remain a threat, with British carmakers previously hit by U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs and still facing possible American duties on electric vehicles. Analysts warn such barriers could erode competitiveness, particularly as JLR prepares to relaunch Jaguar as an all-electric brand by 2026.
Despite these headwinds, the SMMT stressed the sector's importance to the economy, supporting nearly 800,000 jobs and on track to generate more than 110 billion pounds (146 billion U.S. dollars) in trade for a third straight year. Hawes urged the government to speed up its Industrial Strategy and the Drive35 plan to support the transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
