Due to US tariffs and the date of Easter, the number of automobiles produced in the UK plummeted precipitously last month. With the exception of 2020, when manufacturing essentially ceased due to the Covid shutdown, the 59,203 automobiles produced in April were the lowest April output in over 70 years. According to the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the industry’s broader transition from gasoline-powered automobiles to electric vehicles (EVs) has also momentarily decreased output.
The April total was a quarter lower than March, when manufacturers were probably exporting more vehicles to the US before President Trump’s 25% tax on steel, aluminium, and automobiles took effect, and 16% lower than the same month the previous year. Many of Trump’s tariffs were halted by a US court on Wednesday, but the steel, aluminium, and auto taxes are exempt from the judgement.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a British automaker, claims that paying 27.5% tariffs on all of its shipments to the US is costing them “a huge amount of money.” The company pays both import and export taxes on any automobiles it ships over the Atlantic since it ships cars from its UK business to its US business. The business also expressed frustration about the lengthy implementation of the new agreement reached in early May between the US and the UK to lower auto tariffs to 10% up to a quota of 100,000 vehicles. Another factor contributing to the decline in automobile production, according to the SMMT, was that Easter happened in April this year, resulting in fewer working days.
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