While the Brexit negotiations are still failing to fire on all cylinders the United Kingdom auto industry is looking beyond Europe, with three of UK’s top five fastest-growing automotive export markets now being outside Europe.
Research commissioned by Wyelands Bank found that the biggest growth in exports outside Europe is to the United States (4,3%), Japan (3%) and Australia (2,6%).
The Netherlands and Italy make up the remaining top five, with exports expected to grow at 4.3% and 2.1% per year to 2021. Automotive exports to these five markets were worth $17.9bn in 2017.
The projected growth could generate an extra US$677m a year for UK exports to 2021. At $54.7bn the automotive sector is the second largest export sector by value in the UK behind machinery and components, at $55bn.
Automotive exports as a whole are expected to grow by more than 1.7% annually to 2021. This makes the UK the fourth-fastest growing automotive exporter globally, behind Mexico, China and Spain.
