Car production in August was up 37.3% compared to the same month last year, totalling 100,200 vehicles.

“August is usually a quiet month for vehicle production due to holiday working patterns, but this year it saw the best volume output since 2002,” said Christopher Macgowan, SMMT chief executive.

“The gains in the month were seen across both home and exports markets, with three out of every four cars made so far this year in the UK destined for overseas markets.”

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle production is also up, by 49%.

Macgowan said: “2006 saw interruption to (commercial vehicle) production patterns due to industrial re-organisation, but this year there have been significant increases, indicating a solid recovery.”