World-class in Automotive
The UK's automotive sector is diverse, vibrant and world-class. With over 5,000 companies, it employs around 820,000 people.
The sector is worth over £11 billion and the UK is one of Europe's top five automotive manufacturing countries, attracting significant foreign investment.
The sector contributed around 7.8 per cent of manufacturing value add-on to the UK economy, with automotive manufacturing accounting for 10.6 per cent of the UK's total exports in 2008. What's more, the UK's highly sophisticated retail and service/maintenance sector generates even more for the economy each year.
More than 40 companies manufacture vehicles in the UK. They range from global volume car makers, van, truck and bus builders, to specialist niche players. A dynamic supply chain includes many of the world's major Tier 1 component manufacturers, technology providers, and design and engineering consultancies. 11 of the world’s volume vehicle manufacturers have a UK presence, supported by 19 of the world’s top 20 suppliers and productivity in the sector nearly doubled, in cash terms, from 2000 to 2008, overtaking both France and Italy.
With six of the world's top ten vehicle makers and 19 of the top 20 auto parts makers having a UK manufacturing presence, the country is a global centre of excellence. The Nissan and Toyota plants in Sunderland and Derbyshire are two of the most productive in Europe. It's estimated that the sector exports 60 per cent of its products - twice the national average. The new BMW MINI is exported to over 80 countries, and Nissan's Sunderland plant recently began shipping one of its models back to Japan for the first time in over a decade. Jaguar Land Rover has achieved signifcant sales growth in 2009/10 in China, Russia, North America and Europe.
Vehicles made in the UK include:
- Alexander Dennis - Enviro/Primo/Centro/Javelin buses & coaches
- Aston Martin - DB9/DBS/Vantage cars
- Bentley - Arnage/Azure/Brooklands/Continental cars
- BMW - Mini range of cars
- Caterham - Super 7 sports car
- Dennis Eagle - Duo/Twin Pack/Beta 2/Elite 2/Phoenix 2 refuse trucks
- Ford - Transit van
- Ginetta - F400/G50EV/G50R road cars & G20/G40/G40 Junior/G50/Zytek race cars
- Honda - Civic/Jazz,/CRV cars
- Jaguar - XF/XJ/XK/X cars
- Land Rover - Defender/Discovery/Freelander/Range Rover/Range Rover Sport 4 x 4 vehicles
- Leyland Trucks - DAF CF/XF/LF/Hybrid trucks
- London Taxis Int - TX4 taxi
- Lotus - Elise/Europa/Evora/Exige sports cars
- Mercedes McLaren - SLR sports car
- MG - MGTF sports car
- Morgan - Aero 8/Aeromax/Aero SuperSports/Roadster & 4/4 sports cars
- Nissan - Micra/Note/Qashqai cars
- Optare - Solo/Versa/Tempo/Olympus/Sorocco/Toro single & double deck buses
- Rolls Royce - Phantom,/Ghost cars
- Toyota - Auris/Avensis cars
- Vauxhall - Astra car & Astra/Vivaro vans
- Wrightbus - Midi/Maxi/Full size/Double Deck/Hybrid Electric/Dual Purpose/Schoolbus/StreetCar RTV buses
The UK engine manufacturing sector made over 2 million automotive engines in 2009. This includes a quarter of all Ford engines globally produced at Bridgend (petrol) and Dagenham (diesel), BMW Hams Hall (4-cylinder petrol engines for BMW's worldwide operations), and also Honda (Swindon), Nissan (Sunderland) and Toyota (Deeside).
R&D is an important part of the sector and every year over £1 billion is spent in the UK on automotive R&D; Britain possesses two of the most globally renowned test and development facilities anywhere - Millbrook and MIRA. Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and Nissan all have R&D centres in the UK (Ford spends over £400 million in R&D in the UK). Additionally, the UK is also at the cutting edge of developments within the supplier community. Delphi’s advanced, world-leading diesel injection systems are not just made in the UK but also designed and developed here.
Key Facts
- The UK automotive sector is worth over £11 billion to the UK economy and accounts for 7.8% of manufacturing value-add and 10.6% of total UK manufactured exports in 2008.
- The UK automotive industry employs around 820,000 people with 180,000 directly in manufacturing including around 75,000 people in vehicle and engine manufacturing, and 105,000 people in the automotive supply chain. In addition, it is estimated that a further 200,000 jobs elsewhere in the economy support this manufacturing activity.
- In 2009 the UK produced 1,117,751 vehicles.
- 25 per cent of all Ford engines worldwide and over 50 per cent of all Ford diesel engines are made in the UK.
- 76% of cars, and 73% of commercial vehicles, made in the UK are exported. 2008 trade data shows UK auto exports were worth £26.6bn.
- The UK auto sector ranks 4th in Europe and 12th globally - and is responsible for 2.4% of global output in terms of numbers of vehicles (2008 data) made.
- The Nissan plant in Sunderland and the Toyota plant in Derbyshire are two of the most productive car plants in Europe.
- The new BMW MINI is exported to over 80 countries.
- UK company Johnson Matthey is the world's largest manufacturer of catalytic converters - helping vehicles reduce potentially harmful emissions.
- The UK’s contract engineering specialists are second to none (e.g. Lotus Engineering and Ricardo) – with global reputations that precede them.
Keeping ahead Innovation drives the UK automotive sector, with significant levels of turnover invested in R&D. Examples include:
Motorsport
Motorsport is a key area of the UK sector and contributes over £5 billion each year to the country's economy. UK motorsport has a dominant role in managing and serving Formula 1 and other international racing series. There's a wealth of world-class design, precision and high-performance engineering companies, and a comprehensive range of leading service firms in areas such as event management, marketing, PR and sponsorship.
The UK's "Motorsport Valley", employs over 25,000 world-class engineers. Over 15 UK universities offer motorsport engineering and management degrees, while more than five offer post-graduate courses.
Two British World Champions (Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton) are racing for a British team in the 2010 Formula One season. This "dream team" confirms that in motorsport, Britain is a world power.
Eight out of the twelve F1 teams in the 2010 season are based in the UK (McLaren, Mercedes - formerly Brawn, Red Bull, Williams, Renault, Force India, Lotus F1 and Virgin Racing).
The industry remains clustered around the Silverstone racetrack area. Recognised as an unparalleled ‘community of knowledge’, this Motorsport Valley® attracts automotive OEMs and leading motorsport teams to harness the race-bred research and development, rapid prototyping capabilities, high-tolerance engineering skills and next-generation technology to find ‘the competitive edge’ for the development of modern road and racing vehicles. Companies from other industry sectors - such as Defence, Marine and Aerospace - have also learned to turn to the motorsport industry when looking to accelerate the solution of their engineering problems and provide competitive advantage over their competitors (for example, Cosworth building high-performance, lightweight engines for unmanned aerial vehicles). One of the features of the UK industry is that it is dominated by small and medium-sized businesses, which are usually more nimble and better able to respond to required changes to stay ahead of the competition.
The companies found within this motorsport cluster provide performance engineering solutions and act as a global centre for the production of performance cars’ chassis, engines, braking, suspension, transmission and telemetry components. Britain's equipment has become the standard for F1, rally cars, superbikes and also American Nascars. A supporting services industry offering specialised legal, financial and insurance capabilities, has also built up around these world-class design and manufacturing businesses.
Approximately 4,500 companies are involved in the UK Motorsport and Performance Engineering Industry, boasting an annual turnover of ₤6 billion – of which £3.6 billion exported. As a result, Motorsport Valley® is a major source of value-added to the British economy - its average R&D spend of 30% of turnover dwarfing even the UK Pharmaceutical and IT industries.
The creative side - involving events management, public relations, marketing, sponsorship and a host of other support functions, accounts for approximately ₤1.7 billion of the yearly Industry total. UK Motorsport supports 38,500 full and part-time jobs, of which 25,000 are qualified engineers. More than 15 universities offer motorsport engineering and management degrees.
The industry is looking to adapt by looking to new sectors for business (for example, McLaren selling remote telemetry to an NHS Trust for distant patient monitoring) and by turning it's skills towards "green" technologies.
Key Facts
- British motorsport contribution to the economy - £6 billion
- 4,500 companies based in Motorsport Valley®
- 38,500 people employed in Motorsport Valley® of which 25,000 are highly qualified engineers.
- Britain is a leader in high-performance engineering.
- Members of the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) export more than 60% of their products and services
The UK construction equipment sector
The UK construction equipment industry is worth an estimated £8.5 billion to the British economy. It employs over 50,000 people in the UK. Many UK manufacturers export over 80% of their production to more than 200 countries. UK companies are at the forefront of advanced technology and production and manufacture products of proven reliability to high quality standards with a full after sales service.
Products include ……
- OEM products, especially earthmovers - suppliers such as JCB, Caterpillar, Komatsu and smaller specialist companies.
- Drilling and tunnelling - including foundation engineering.
- Road construction - including preparation, storage and handling.
- Concrete equipment.
- Crushers and screens - recycling and the environment.
- Component supplies - axles, transmissions, engines.
- Retro-fit products including safety, security and monitoring equipment.
- Light equipment such as mobile lighting.
- Market research companies - with global reputations.
- University research and testing grounds - demonstrate the back up for the product and at the cutting edge of research for global companies on construction equipment.
Structure of the UK Industry and how it works
- Many companies are long established - some from nineteenth century, many since the 1930s - and have a thorough understanding of their very reliable products.
- Multinationals with large manufacturing facilities in the UK are JCB, Caterpillar, Terex and Komatsu. Global manufacturing expanded dramatically at the beginning of the 21st Century
- Large component suppliers include Perkins Engines, Cummins etc.
- Commitment of OEMs to the UK supplier base, supplier chains by helping with improved manufacturing programmes.
- Small niche players with unique and innovative products, offer technical expertise in providing the know-how and equipment to solve particular construction problems.
UK Strengths include:
Innovative products - drive by wire, advanced electronic systems etc.
Advanced materials - plastics, metallurgy, stress testing, paints etc.
Advanced engineering - High technology manufacturing processes.
Advanced R & D capabilities - working with universities and testing institutions.
Green products - delivering low carbon, reduced emissions, hybrid products under development, green factories and zero to landfill.
At the heart of the global market place - the UK is ideally placed to deliver to world markets, working with specialist freight companies to deliver oversized equipment.
Reputation and Experience - UK manufacturers hold an enviable reputation for quality and service in many export markets.
After sales service - OEM manufacturers provide full in market after sales service and parts. Local employment generated from training indigenous workers as service engineers.
World class components - the UK provides high quality components for both UK manufacturers and the export market. We are leading players in transmissions, engines, drivelines, hydraulics and electronic systems. UK manufacturers are highly flexible, developing products to meet the customers’ specifications as well as off the shelf solutions.
UK Manufactured products are used in many applications and sectors - including:
- Earthmoving
- Ground foundation & Piling
- Roadbuilding
- Civil Engineering
- Ports
- Airports
- Railways
- Asphalt and cement processing
- Lifting & Access
- Drainage & Irrigation
- Utilities
- Rental
- Mining & Quarrying
- Recycling / remanufacture
- Industrial
- Agriculture
- Demolition
- Forestry
- Mineral, oil and gas extraction and processing
- Tunnelling
- Major civils support
- Defence
