UK car production has slowed, according to industry figures, in the latest sign of a struggling sector.

For the eighth month in a row UK car manufacturing fell, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

October saw 15.3% fewer cars roll off factory lines than the same month a year ago, meaning 14,037 fewer cars were made last month compared to October 2023.

The impact of this reduced production could be visible in the last week from the announcement of 800 job cuts from Ford UK and Vauxhall‘s Luton plant closure.

Part of the blame for the closure was placed on government electric car sales targets by Stellantis, Vauxhall’s parent company.

Pressure has been on UK car producers to meet the government’s electric car mandate.

Under the mandate, financial penalties are currently levied against makers if zero-emission vehicles make up less than 22% of all sales. This will rise to 80% of all sales by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

But the sales have not lived up to the targets and are less than the forecasts made at the time the 2030 target was devised. Instead of the intended 22% of all car sales being fully electric at present just 18.7% of cars are.

Following complaints from the sector facing £1.8bn in fines for missing targets and £4bn in discounts to make electric vehicles (EVs) more appealing ending in April next year, as well as longstanding calls for more support, a review into the mandate was announced.

Today’s figures show production for both the UK and for export declined, with the biggest fall (17.6%) in vehicles leaving the country.

The vast majority of vehicles (80%) are shipped abroad with half going to Europe.

Car maker problems are not unique to the UK as European manufacturers are also facing weaker EV demand than anticipated and competition from Chinese imports.

High borrowing costs and more expensive raw materials have compounded the problem.

On Friday, Bosch – the world’s biggest car parts supplier – reported the loss of 5,500 jobs, predominantly in Germany.

Less than a month ago Volkswagen revealed plans to shut at least three factories in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of staff.

The City watchdog is to give companies it is investigating an additional window to contest allegations as it seeks to defuse the months-long row over its so-called ‘name and shame’ proposals.

Sky News has learnt that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to disclose on Thursday that it will allow the subjects of enforcement probes a 48-hour window to assess the contents of its announcements before they are made public.

Under the proposals, the FCA would give companies ten days’ notice that they were being investigated, at the end of which it could decide to proceed with the announcement, triggering the extra 48-hour window.

The revised plan represents a climbdown from the regulator after a fierce backlash from the City and politicians which started earlier this year.

Jeremy Hunt, the then chancellor, was among those who criticised the FCA’s stance.

In recent weeks, the watchdog’s chair, Ashley Alder, and chief executive Nikhil Rathi, have acknowledged flaws in the original plan and signalled that they would water it down.

They have argued that the principle of naming and shaming will act as an effective regulatory deterrent.

The Treasury and Sir Keir Starmer have put Britain’s economic regulators on notice that they need to adopt a pro-growth approach to their mandates.

Mr Rathi, who threw his hat into the ring for the soon-to-be-vacant cabinet secretary’s post, is expected to step down when his first five-year term expires next autumn.

The FCA declined to comment.

Supermarket loyalty schemes offer genuine savings for shoppers, according to the competition regulator following an investigation into claims of price manipulation.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its review of 50,000 loyalty priced products showed that 92% offered genuine savings against the usual price.

That was despite 55% of shoppers thinking “usual” prices were raised to make loyalty deals more appealing, it said.

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The watchdog’s report found “very little evidence” of supermarkets inflating their ‘usual’ prices to make loyalty promotions seem like a better deal but it did call on firms to bolster access to their schemes.

It was asked to investigate by the consumer group Which?.

Which? had complained that deals were “not all they were cracked up to be” but chains declared that the group’s own report on the issue had failed to take the effects of inflation into account.

The CMA’s report was published at a time of year when supermarket chains tend to scrap for market share by offering discounts to lock in customers for their Christmas grocery shopping.

There is a chance, however, that stretched consumer budgets will benefit to only a limited extent this year as the retail sector faces pressure to save money and protect profits through looming leaps in costs arising from the budget.

Major employers, such as grocers, have warned that hikes to employer National Insurance contributions from April will hurt jobs and investment while the rate of inflation has risen again above the Bank of England’s target.

Retail industry body the BRC warned earlier this week that food inflation could soon be on the rise due to rising costs, with the pace of increases for fresh produce already accelerating.

George Lusty, interim executive director of consumer protection at the CMA, said of its price probe: “We know many people don’t trust loyalty card prices, which is why we did a deep dive to get to the bottom of whether supermarkets were treating shoppers fairly.

“After analysing tens of thousands of products, we found that almost all the loyalty prices reviewed offered genuine savings against the usual price – a fact we hope reassures shoppers throughout the UK.

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“While these discounts are legitimate, our review has shown that loyalty prices aren’t always the cheapest option, so shopping around is still key. By checking a few shops, you can continue to stretch your hard-earned cash.”

The regulator said that while loyalty prices were generally some of the cheapest available, people could make an average saving of 17-25% buying loyalty priced products at the five supermarkets examined: Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Co-op and Morrisons.

A Tesco spokesperson said of the findings: “Clubcard Prices has always been about offering genuine savings and rewards to our customers, and we are pleased that this has been evidenced by the CMA.

“We are always working to find the best possible deals for our customers, and with around 8,000 products included in Clubcard Prices every week, we’re helping customers to save up to £385 a year off their groceries.”

As part of its review, the CMA said it also found no evidence that consumer laws were being breached by the way supermarkets collect and use people’s data when they sign up to a loyalty scheme.

Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, responded: “Two-tier loyalty pricing has become a common practice across retailers. It’s therefore reassuring that the CMA has found that most of the prices it looked at across supermarkets offered genuine savings against the usual price.

“However, it stresses that it is worth shopping around as they aren’t always the cheapest option.”