Dismal – that's how to sum up the UK's automotive manufacturing figures. For 2021 was the worst year for British car makers overall since 1956.

It's not all gloom. Factories turned out record numbers of battery electric vehicles. And new investment is finally pouring in to the tune of $6.6 billion.

"Investment is always cyclical," said Mike Hawes, CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. "But the downturn was deeper and longer because of the Brexit referendum, a deal delay and the pandemic. 

"Now we're playing catch-up."

READ MORE

Training with the Ukraine military

Should all zoos be closed?

The dog rescued by a sausage

In other words, while the UK car industry should have been focusing on making up lost ground, it was left managing a crisis.

WATCH: Mike Hawes interview in full

UK car manufacturing is quite diverse. Bentley and Rolls-Royce reported record sales for the second year running, so times have been good for premium, luxury, low-volume producers. The same goes for zero-emission and low-emission producers – despite the pandemic and other problems, such as the scarcity of microchips.

But overall sector performance was poor. Car production fell 6.7 percent to 859,575 units, marking the fifth year of decline and only the second time since 2009 that production has dropped below the million-unit mark.

The good news is that UK electrified vehicle output surged 29.6 percent, to represent more than a quarter of total car production. It's the investment story giving the greatest hint of confidence – potentially $6.6 billion of it.

There will still be bumps in the road for the UK automotive manufacturing sector. The shortage of semiconductor chips – those critical components in modern car manufacturing – is a worldwide issue, as is the market slowdown caused by COVID-19.

But there are UK-specific problems to overcome. The closure of the UK Honda plant in Swindon had a big impact, accounting for around a quarter of that drop in car production. 

Brexit uncertainty also still plays a part. That four or five years of muddle, between the June 2016 referendum to leave the EU and a trade agreement in December 2020, held up a lot of investment – and even now, any funds take a while to flow through.

Hawes remains concerned about high energy prices, too – not the biggest input cost to the sector (that's materials and labor), but still a key factor. He would like the industry to work with the government to mitigate energy price rises in 2022.