Home-grown cars generate £25bn overseas
BRITAIN’S car manufacturers have more than doubled the amount of money they make from exports in the past decade, taking overseas income up to £24.8bn last year.
The average wholesale price of a British-made car has risen from £10,200 in 2004 to £20,640 and demand is surging around the globe.
“With booming production volumes and the increasing value of UK car manufacturing, we are enjoying healthy demand from both growing and established markets,” said Mike Hawes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
UK car makers are expected to smash through the record production level set in the 1970s within the next three years, with around four-fifths of the vehicles made for export.
Marques from Nissan to Jaguar have been scaling up their UK factories in recent years as domestic demand rises and drivers in growing economies develop a taste for high-end British motors. Rolls-Royce is next month opening its first showroom in Cambodia. Premium and specialist models made up 42.4 per cent of UK exports last year, up from 28.9 per cent in 2004.