Key reasons why the British now prefer foreign car brands

By Arne Aase

In this article we will talk about the evolution of the British car industry in recent decades and consider why the UK market is now dominated by non-British manufacturers. A lot has changed since the mid 20^th Century when British car manufacturers occupied pole position. 

What cars are popular in Britain in 2024?

The most up-to-date surveys claim that the entire top five sales this year belong to foreign car brands. Thus, the first place is occupied by Ford cars (95,182 units sold). In the second place are Volkswagen cars (83,212 cars sold). The third place was taken by BMW (56,280 cars), and the fourth – Audi (53,388 cars). Rounding out the top five is Vauxhall (52,808 cars sold), a subsidiary of General Motors focused on the British market. In addition, Kia, Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota are also on the list below.

What is the state of the British car industry?

It’s worth starting with the fact that the country’s car industry has had its ups and downs. For example, the 1950s saw an incredible upswing. At that time, it was the UK that led car sales in the UK, competing with some large US manufacturers. However, this state of affairs lasted for 20 years and by the 1970s the British car industry was close to complete collapse. British car manufacturers faced huge problems with modernizing plant to compete with other countries on reliability and cost. In addition, industrial relations challenges saw the reputation for productivity and quality control suffer serious damage.  Such dramatic swings in fortune have been observed throughout history. For example, in 2016, 1.7 million cars rolled off the assembly line. At the same time, in 2022, the figure dropped to 770,000. 

Unfortunately, setbacks have continued to haunt the redevelopment of the country’s auto industry. Recently, one such failure was battery startup Britishvolt.  It was lauded as being  the UK’s answer to Tesla. It was supposed to be producing hundreds of thousands of lithium-ion batteries a year for the British automotive sector by 2024.  And it was supposed to champion the industrial renaissance for the economically deprived northeast of England. Instead it found itself in serious financial difficulty and was only saved as a result of a takeover by BMW. This was a disappointing turn of events given that the startup was seen as something of a symbol of a renewed and vibrant British car industry.

To conclude this brief description of the state of the British car industry, it’s worth adding the fact that the globalisation of the industry back in the 1980s had a significant negative impact. Japanese giants like Toyota and Nissan opened UK manufacturing plants, while other foreign firms bought up the best British brands.

A little bit about Japanese cars on the market and the environment

It’s no secret that Japanese cars have won the hearts and minds of drivers all over the world. This is understandable, the blend of high quality and high value solutions offered by Japanese manufacturers has contributed to world wide changes in the automotive industry as others adapted to match the standards set by Japanese innovation. Japanese industry is renowned for the quality and reliability of the goods they produce, and cars are part of that mix. Among other things, we should not forget about environmental factors. In the UK there is a strong focus on harmful environmental emissions, and on the drive to Net Zero in its various forms. It is for this reason that Britons try to buy cars with the latest versions of catalytic converters and exhaust aftertreatment systems in general. Given that Japanese catalytic converters work well, the British consumers often see this aspect as an advantage for a particular brand of car. This is understandable, as a catalytic converter is a special filter that can reduce the level of toxic components in the exhaust.

A few conclusions:                 

Purchasing data shows that Brits today prefer to buy cars from foreign manufacturers. There are many reasons for this, some of which I have touched on in this article. Today, for everyday driving, consumers want simple and reliable cars that are easy to maintain. In addition, British consumers pay a lot of attention to environmental considerations and the control of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. These factors play an important role in vehicle selection. The British car industry may never recover to its previous highs, but today there are many quality British manufacturers and brands competing in the world-wide market.

Arne Aase is a journalist who focuses on global automotive trends and has a passion for all things relating to cars and motoring.