The automotive industry in the United Kingdom is now best known for premium and sports car marques including Aston Martin, Bentley, Caterham Cars, Daimler, Jaguar, Lagonda, Land Rover, Lister Cars, Lotus, McLaren, Mini, MOKE, Morgan and Rolls-Royce. Volume car manufacturers with a major presence in the UK include Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall Motors (a subsidiary of Opel, itself a subsidiary of Stellantis). Commercial vehicle manufacturers active in the UK include Alexander Dennis, Ford, IBC Vehicles (owned by Stellantis), Leyland Trucks (owned by Paccar) and London Electric Vehicle Company (owned by Geely).
In 2018 the UK automotive manufacturing sector had a turnover of £82 billion, generated £18.6 billion in value to the UK economy and produced around 1.5 million passenger vehicles and 85,000 commercial vehicles. In that year around 168,000 people were directly employed in automotive manufacturing in the UK, with a further 823,000 people employed in automotive supply, retail and servicing.
The UK is a major centre for engine manufacturing and in 2018 around 2.71 million engines were produced in the country. The UK has a significant presence in auto racing and the UK motorsport industry currently employs around 38,500 people, comprises around 4,500 companies and has an annual turnover of around £6 billion.
The origins of the UK automotive industry date back to the final years of the 19th century. By the 1950s, the UK was the second-largest manufacturer of cars in the world (after the United States), and the largest exporter. However, in subsequent decades the industry experienced considerably lower growth than competitor nations such as France, Germany and Japan, and by 2008 the UK was the 12th-largest producer of cars measured by volume. Since the early 1990s, many British car marques have been acquired by foreign companies including BMW (Mini and Rolls-Royce), SAIC (MG), Tata (Jaguar and Land Rover) and Volkswagen Group (Bentley). Rights to many currently dormant marques, including Austin, Riley, Rover and Triumph, are also owned by foreign companies.
Famous and iconic British cars include the Aston Martin DB5, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Bentley 4½ Litre, Jaguar E-Type, Land Rover Defender, Lotus Esprit, McLaren F1, MGB, original two-door Mini, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce Phantom III and Rover P5. Notable British car designers include David Bache, Dick Burzi, Laurence Pomeroy, John Polwhele Blatchley, Ian Callum, Colin Chapman, Alec Issigonis, Charles Spencer King and Gordon Murray.
History
1896 to 1900
Motorcars came into use on British roads during the early 1890s, but initially relied entirely on imported vehicles. The inception of the British motor industry can be traced back to the late 1880s, when Frederick Simms, a London-based consulting engineer, became friends with Gottlieb Daimler, who had, in 1885, patented a successful design for a high-speed petrol engine. Simms acquired the British rights to Daimler's engine and associated patents and from 1891 successfully sold launches using these Cannstatt-made motors from Eel Pie Island in the Thames. In 1893 he formed The Daimler Motor Syndicate Limited for his various Daimler-related enterprises.
In June 1895, Simms and his friend Evelyn Ellis promoted motor cars in the United Kingdom by bringing a Daimler-engined Panhard & Levassor to England and in July it completed, without police intervention, the first British long-distance motorcar journey from Southampton to Malvern.
Simms' documented plans to manufacture Daimler motors and Daimler Motor Carriages (in Cheltenham) were taken over, together with his company and its Daimler licences, by London company-promoter H J Lawson. Lawson contracted to buy The Daimler Motor Syndicate Limited and all its rights and on 14 January 1896 formed and in February successfully floated in London The Daimler Motor Company Limited. It then purchased from a friend of Lawson a disused cotton mill in Coventry for car engine and chassis manufacture where, it is claimed, the UK's first serial production car was made.