UK car production hits 70-year low in 2025 amid JLR cyberattack and US tariffs

Britain’s car manufacturing fell to the lowest level in almost 70 years in 2025 after a cyberattack crippled Jaguar Land Rover and US tariffs took a toll on the country’s automakers.

Output declined 8% to 717,371 units, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders lobby group. That’s the worst since 1956, when Britain made models like the Morris Minor and the Ford Popular.

Taking into account commercial vehicles, the performance was the worst since 1952, with total manufacturing down 16%. That’s due in part to Stellantis NV shuttering its Vauxhall van plant in Luton.

The figures underscore a dismal year for Britain’s car industry, which has grappled with Brexit, semiconductor shortages, US tariffs and slower growth for electric vehicles. Last year also saw JLR, the country’s largest carmaker, stop activity entirely at factories for nearly six weeks after a cyberattack.

The SMMT predicts that production will pick up this year by more than 10% thanks in part to the introduction of new battery-powered models such as Nissan’s latest Leaf.

The EV transition has been bumpy, but the UK has largely stuck to ambitious targets for manufacturers. After the European Union proposed watering down its plan to eliminate tailpipe emissions by the middle of the next decade, the UK still requires carmakers to raise the share of EVs they sell each year until they reach 100% by 2035. The targets are proving even more difficult for commercial vehicle manufacturers to meet.

The growing popularity of Chinese brands in the UK has raised hopes that some of them may establish manufacturing operations in the country. On his trip to China this week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to discuss proposals that would see Chery Automobile Co. tap a British plant owned by JLR, the Financial Times reported.

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Published on January 29, 2026