Increase in UK car production ’cause for optimism’, says trade group

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the global shortage of semiconductors had started to ease.

UK factories produced 12,540 more cars than the same quarter last year (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

The number of cars built in the first three months of the year increased by 6%, new figures show.

Production totalled 219,887, according to the latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The trade group said the global shortage of semiconductors and other components had started to ease, so factories produced 12,540 more cars than the same quarter last year, driven by exports which increased 6.6% and represented almost eight in 10 cars made.