rom UK-built cars and overseas sales, to the number of vehicles in London and the price of fuel, the automotive industry has changed dramatically in the 64 years since the last Olympic Games held in the UK. Motor industry trade body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), has released a selection of facts and statistics comparing today’s automotive landscape with 1948, the year of the last Olympic Games held in the UK.
Cars
| 1948 | Present | |
| Total car manufacturing output | 334,815 | 1,343,810 |
| % of cars exported | 68% | 84% |
| Total new car registrations With engine capacity: up to 1 litre 1 – 2 litres > 2 litres |
110,634 15,317 65,536 29,791 |
1,941,253 89,137 1,629,220 221,798 |
| Total cars on UK roads | 2,132,720 | 31,362,716 |
| Total cars in London | 126,714 | 808,924 |
Today, the UK is home to seven volume car manufacturers, eight major premium and sports car producers, and more than 100 specialist brands.
Commercial vehicles
| 1948 | Present | |
| Total CV manufacturing output | 177,261 | 121,312 |
| % of CVs exported | 42% | 57% |
| Total CVs on UK roads | 785,418 | 4,269,641 |
| Total CVs in London | 89,429 | 20,403 |
The stand-out difference between 1948 and today is the 444% rise in the number of commercial vehicles on UK roads with more than 4.2 million vans and trucks registered for use across the UK. With over 81% of all goods delivered by road in the UK, it is estimated that today’s trucks shift more than four million tonnes of goods every day (Source DfT).
Other automotive facts
| 1948 | Present | |
| Total employees in automotive | Approx 400,000 | Approx 700,000 |
| Average price of petrol per litre (Source AA) | 2.3p (36% tax) | 133.9p (56.8% tax) |
| Road tax (VED) for cars | A flat rate of £10 per car | Amount payable based on CO2 emissions: Band A (up to 100 CO2 g/km) = £0 Band M (over 255 CO2 g/km) = £475) |
| Total mileage of UK roads | 183,659 | 245,000 |
Today, more than 700,000 people are employed across the design, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, aftermarket and retail sectors with around 140,000 directly employed in automotive manufacturing. Attracting the brightest and best talent is critical to the long-term success of industry and last year, UK automotive recruited more than 14,000 new apprenticeships and hundreds of graduates across manufacturing and retail sectors.
