Guest post: The Top 3 Car Manufacturers Benefiting from the British Car Industry

Range Rover Sport

Not long ago, the British car industry was in dire straits, and numerous manufacturers cut their British production in favour of reducing costs abroad. Now, the British car manufacturing industry is booming. So, which car manufacturers are benefiting the most from Britain’s rich car industry? Let’s take a look.

1. Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is heavily invested in the British car industry, and not long ago a new investment was announced to the tune of £370 million – this investment includes a state-of-the-art upgrade in the manufacturers Solihull plant, where the 2013 Range Rover 4 is produced. This new investment will also safeguard the existing 6,800 jobs at the Solihull plant, and since 2010, the company have created 8,000 jobs alone. In total, it is estimated that they have created 190,000 jobs across the British car industry. These staggering numbers are testament to Jaguar Land Rover’s commitment in Great Britain, where they also produce the Jaguar F Type and the Range Rover Evoque.

2. BMW Mini

The mini brand is owned by German car manufacturer BMW. The Mini brand has a rich history, with many different manufacturers producing the car, including the British Motor Corporation and British Leyland. The most recent iterations of the Mini are all manufactured here in the UK, and all of them are produced at BMW’s state-of-the-art Cowley plant in Oxfordshire. On top of this, BMW has three other plants in the UK, most notable of which is the BMW Group Plant in Hams Hall, which builds all four-cylinder petrol engines for BMW and Mini. These engines are fitted to cars around the world. BMW also has a plant in Swindon and they also employ 25 staff in North Dublin, Ireland. BMW also has lots of service departments, not unlike Bristol Street Motors Newcastle car service, and the majority of customer service passes through these departments. The 2014 Mini, which has recently been spied in testing, will be produced at BMW’s Cowley plant in Oxfordshire.

3. Honda

Honda is one of the biggest investors in the British car industry, and currently employs thousands of engineers. Honda’s first car plant in Swindon opened on the 10th October 1992 and had the production capacity of 150,000 cars per year – this plant currently produces all Honda CR-V and Jazz models. Honda’s second car plant opened in 2001, located again in Swindon, and further cemented the Japanese car manufacturers commitment toward car manufacturing in the UK. This car plant has a production potential of 100,000 cars per year, making Honda’s total car manufacturing capacity per year 250,000 in the UK. In 2012, Honda announced a further £267 million investment in its Swindon site, in order to produce a new 1.6-litre diesel engine. This extended the workforce to 3,500.

Other manufacturers

Toyota currently produces the Auris and Avensis at its plant in Derbyshire, and Nissan currently builds the Micra, Qashqai, Note and Leaf in Sunderland. Aston Martin also produces all of its cars in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and Bentley currently produces its cars in Crewe.