February saw a slump in car and commercial vehicle production in the UK, but this is no cause for alarm says the SMMT.

Car production fell by 19.8% from 161,010 units to 129,099 and the year-to-date figure was down 16% from 306,742 to 257,697.

CV production in February fell by 17.5% from 18,320 to 15,108 and in the year-to-date by 0.3% from 32,788 to 32,688.

Commenting on the figures, SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said: “It would be wrong to view February's drop in car production as part of a slide in the fortunes of UK car manufacturing.

“Although the latest appear disappointing, output is set to climb as many of the positive announcements made towards the end of last year and new models waiting to come on stream, are translated into manufacturing output. In the long-term things are looking up.”

Mr Macgowan said that the showcasing of products at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham would boost demand for UK-built CVs.