British car industry sees biggest sales slump in over half a century

The UK's car market has seen its lowest sales slump since 1943, according to an industry trade body, which confirmed the government will need to attract significantly more investment into battery factories if it is to properly recover from coronavirus.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released data that suggested the UK must quadruple its efforts investing in battery technology in order to meet the supply for electric vehicles.

Read more: Electric vehicle sales triple in 2020 as race to cut emissions continues

Further data released by the trade body shows that November 2020 saw an 8.7% decrease in engine production as well as a general 1.4% decrease in general car manufacturing as the sector tried to predict and prepare for the potential for a no-deal Brexit.

Year-to-date production of cars was down 30.8% as a whole, with 380,809 fewer cars produced in 2020.

Figures released by the SMMT showed that new car sales fell by 30% in 2020, seeing the industry's biggest annual fall since 1943, and marks the first time new car sales have fallen below 2 million annually since 2009, at the height of the financial crisis.

The UK has committed to banning the sale of all petrol and diesel cars by 2030, which the trade body argued would require at least 60GWh of battery capacity in order for the nation to successfully complete the transition.

It is believed that investors are in talks to fund various project across the UK to increase its battery output.

Manufacturers themselves are spread thin trying to recover from the pandemic while also having to increase production for electric vehicles, although some automakers have taken this as a sign to begin increasing production of electric vehicles.

Read more: Ford aims for major share of electric vehicle market

Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, told the FT: "Securing investment from international players would be crucial if we want to sustain a domestic manufacturing industry.

"The imposition of another lockdown means that a previous estimate of 2m sales in 2021 will almost certainly be missed, although the total is expected to be more than in 2020.

"Whatever happens this year, it can't be as bad as last year."

The UK's ban on petrol vehicles has been met with an overall commitment to shifting towards renewable energy.

Back in October, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a scheme to have all UK homes powered by renewable energy by 2030, which also falls in line with the EU's pledges made as part of the European Green Deal - their plan to make the bloc carbon-neutral by 2050.

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