The top 10 cars built in the UK
With British car manufacturing contributing massively to the UK economy and enjoying strong demand from across the globe, The Car Expert has put together this list of the ten most popular models to be built in Britain in 2017.
1) Nissan Qashqai
It’s easy to forget the ground-breaking significance of the Nissan Qashqai. It effectively created the compact crossover sector in 2007 when the brand replaced both the unloved Almera and Primera models with a single car bearing a strange name.
This year Nissan’s plant in Sunderland celebrated the production of the 3 millionth Qashqai to roll off its production line. In 2017 alone it built 346,856 units – 265,520 of which were sold in continental Europe. Together with the Leaf and Juke, which are also built in Sunderland, one in three British-built cars is a Nissan.
- Read The Car Expert’s review of the latest Nissan Qashqai
- More Nissan news, reviews, features and offers at The Car Expert
2) MINI hatch
Since its reintroduction back in 2001 under BMW Group ownership, MINI has become a vital force in UK car production.
Although construction is centred at the brand’s Cowley plant in Oxford, it also has a panel-pressing facility in Swindon and builds engines (including the three-cylinder petrol unit found in the BMW i8 hybrid) in Hams Hill, near Birmingham. Last year, 218,885 cars were built for 110 global markets.
3) Honda Civic
Swindon is the home of Honda production in Europe, and builds Honda’s longest-serving model, the Civic. The latest-generation five-door Civic hatch is built for Europe, but since 2016 a large chunk of production has been destined for the US market.
In a further coup for the plant, the high-performance Civic Type R is exported to Japan.
- Read The Car Expert’s review of the Honda Civic Diesel
- Read The Car Expert’s review of the Honda Civic Type R
- More Honda news, reviews, features and offers at The Car Expert
4) Toyota Auris
A major producer of British-built cars since 1992, Toyota produces the popular Auris hatchback, as well as the Auris Hybrid and Touring models, alongside the Avensis at its plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire. The company also makes petrol and hybrid engines at its Deeside plant in North Wales.
5) Vauxhall Astra
Ellesmere Port in Cheshire has been producing Vauxhall cars since the 1960s and has been the home of both the Vauxhall and Opel Astra since the 1980s.
A major local employer, the future of the plant is unknown as new owner, France’s PSA, considers its future production requirements. Last year saw production fall by 22% to 92,164 units.
- Read The Car Expert’s review of the Vauxhall Astra
- More Vauxhall news, reviews, features and offers at The Car Expert
6) Nissan Juke
Having created and defined a new vehicle sector with the Qashqai, Nissan did it again with the sub-compact (or small) Juke crossover.
Designed in London and produced in Sunderland, widely regarded as one of the most efficient car plants in Europe, the Juke has repeated the success of its bigger sibling by attracting and retaining new customers to the brand. It’s all-new replacement, due this year, has a tough act to follow.
7) Range Rover Sport
The second-generation Range Rover Sport has been built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull plant since 2013 and is regularly one of the brand’s most popular sellers.
The genuinely go-anywhere premium car is beloved by footballers, celebrities and the upwardly mobile around the world.
8) Jaguar F-Pace
Launched in 2016, there must have been some internal head-scratching about whether Jaguar’s first SUV would take sales away from its Land Rover sister brand. That doesn’t seem to be the case as both marques attracted high demand in 2017 amongst affluent crossover buyers.
The Jaguar F-Pace is built in Solihull and designed by the legendary Ian Callum, the man who penned the Ford Escort RS Cosworth and Aston Martin DB9, amongst many other classics.
- Read The Car Expert’s review of the Jaguar F-Pace
- More Jaguar news, reviews, features and offers at The Car Expert
9) Range Rover Evoque
The sharp angles and low roofline of Range Rover’s first compact SUV may have raised eyebrows when it debuted in 2011, but it continues to sell well in the UK and abroad.
Built in Halewood near Liverpool, along with its sister model the Land Rover Discovery Sport (below), the Evoque is due for replacement later this year.
10) Land Rover Discovery Sport
The Land Rover Discovery Sport replaced the Freelander model back in 2014 and has enjoyed huge global success ever since.
This compact SUV is built for UK and export markets at Halewood, one of the few UK car manufacturing plants to be open to the public with guided tours which even extend to children aged over 10.
Next page: All the cars currently built in the UK
