UK car output drops 95% in May, spurring cry for help

British car production plummeted by an annual 95% in May with just 5,314 vehicles built as the coronavirus outbreak kept some factories shut and others operating at reduced levels, an industry body said on Friday.

Output slightly recovered from just 197 cars made in April, the lowest level for any month since February 1946, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Volumes in the first five months of the year are more than 40% down at 324,763 cars, with the sector expected to slump to its worst full-year performance in decades.