Automotive News – Early October 2025
Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Range Rover production lines in Solihull have resumed, according to car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
About 1,000 employees also started work in the car maker’s Wolverhampton engine plant on Wednesday, it said, marking a “significant moment” on its journey back to full vehicle production.
Britain’s drive towards electrification is gaining momentum, but industry leaders warn that scaling up electric vehicle (EV) production to meet government ambitions will require fresh investment and innovation throughout the sector.
The UK has set an ambitious target to manufacture 1.3 million electric vehicles annually by 2035—a significant leap from current projections. According to the latest automotive demand forecast from the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), production is expected to reach 1 million battery electric vehicles (BEVs) per year by 2035, driven largely by new model launches from established original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Yet, to achieve the government’s higher goal, the nation must attract new investment, encourage the introduction of additional vehicle models, and entice new manufacturers to enter the market, thereby reinvigorating the domestic automotive industry.
New van demand dips slightly in September but best month ever for EV uptake.
- UK new LCV market falls slightly by -2.1% in September, with 47,418 units registered.
- Electric van uptake surges by 41.1% to deliver best ever month for volume uptake, while taking 8.9% market share.
- YTD EV demand up by half (55.9%) but still falling short of year’s 16% market share target.
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https://www.smmt.co.uk/new-van-demand-dips-slightly-in-september-but-best-month-ever-for-ev-uptake/
September new car market delivers record number of EVs.
- New car market rises by 13.7% to reach 312,891 units – the best September performance since 2020.
- Manufacturer investments and model choice, complemented by new Electric Car Grant, deliver 72,779 new battery electric vehicles – the highest ever monthly volume and, when combined with hybrids, means electrified vehicles comprise the majority of registrations.
- Overall market up 4.2% YTD after second biggest month of the year, with BEV share rising to 22.1%.
- https://www.smmt.co.uk/september-new-car-market-delivers-record-number-of-evs/
Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that its new hybrid and pure-electric CLA model is being built using low-carbon hydrogen, manufactured in Norway at an all-electric plant.
The German automaker confirmed the inclusion of the innovative material this week, almost three years after signing a letter of intent to procure from Norsk Hydro.
Nork Hydro has recorded a 40% reduction in lifecycle CO2 emissions associated with its material, compared to the industry average.
Aston Martin Lagonda has warned of further losses as it faces US tariffs and also raised fears over supply chain pressures from Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber-attack fallout.
The Warwickshire luxury carmaker said it was now braced for underlying losses greater than £110m, which was the bottom of the previous expected range. The announcement marks the second downgrade to its outlook since early July.
Chinese car making giant BYD says the UK has become its biggest market outside China, after its sales there surged by 880% in September compared to a year earlier.
The company says it sold 11,271 cars in the UK last month, with the plug-in hybrid version of its Seal U sports utility vehicle (SUV) accounting for the majority of those sales.
Unsurprisingly, luxury car maker, Jaguar Land Rover, has seen a sharp drop in sales during the second quarter of its financial year which was affected by a cyber-attack on the group.
The manufacturer, which has production plants in Halewood, Merseyside, and Solihull and Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands, said wholesale sales in the quarter, to September 30, 2025, slumped by 24.2%, compared with the same quarter the previous year, while retail sales fell by 17.1%. https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/2103709-jlr-second-quarter-sales-volumes-impacted-by-costly-cyber-attack?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WestMidlands_9th_Oct_2025_Daily
