UK van, truck bus and coach production fell by 63% to 22,295 in the first quarter of this year, after a further steep fall in March. This is according to data just out from the SMMT, which hopes that the government’s scrappage scheme will stimulate the market. “The figures show that urgent action is necessary to kick-start demand in the motor industry and the introduction of a UK scrappage incentive scheme is an important first step,” said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt. “Efforts to restore confidence and improve access to finance, particularly for companies in the supply chain, are key to sustaining our industrial capability. The motor industry has an essential role in the UK’s economic future, but it will be some months before we see any significant increase in output.”
