LONDON -- British car output fell by 41 percent last month to its lowest October level since 1956 as the global semiconductor shortage and a plant closure hit the sector, data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed.
A total of 64,729 cars rolled off British production lines, the trade industry body said in a statement on Friday.
The decline reflected sweeping global supply chain problems and Honda's permanent closure of its factory in July.
The automaker announced in 2019 that it would shutter assembly plants in Swindon, England, and Turkey as the company pushes toward electrification and confronts changing trends in trade relations.
Car output through 10 months stood at 721,505 vehicles, down 2.9 percent on the same period last year when sites were closed for months as the coronavirus pandemic hit Britain.
Full-year car and van output will be below 1 million for a second consecutive year but is expected to return to above that level in 2022, the SMMT said, citing an independent forecast by AutoAnalysis.
"Britain's automotive sector is resilient but with COVID resurgent across some of our largest markets and global supply chains stretched and even breaking, the immediate challenges in keeping the industry operational are immense," SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said in the statement.
