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The SMMT has repeated its call for the government to step in and help the automotive sector after new figures revealed a 24% reduction in engine production last month compared to a Covid-impacted August 2020.

Mike Hawes, SMMT CE, said it was “very worrying” that just 81,266 engines were made in UK factories in August, compared to 106,398 in the same month last year, when lockdowns and depressed global demand had stalled output.

Demand from both domestic and export markets fell, by 27% and 21.8% respectively.

The only good news was year-to-date manufacturing, which increased by 3.9% to 1,140,058 units compared to 2020.

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However, this remains 33% below the five-year average.

Hawes said: “The worldwide shortage of semiconductors - itself caused by Covid issues globally - continues to throttle vehicle production, putting automotive jobs and livelihoods at risk.

“It is vital that government takes urgent action, such as extending coronavirus job support schemes, and introducing measures to improve competitiveness to assist the sector.”

In July, the SMMT said it was unsurprising engine production was below average given the global shortage of semiconductors and it urged the government to introduce measures to support production and boost competitiveness.

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