British car output rises

Press, 23 February 1984, Page 21

British car output rises

British car production was 17.7 per cent higher last year than it was in 1982. Production reached 1,044.597 to make 1983 the first year since 1979 in which more than a million cars were produced. British Leyland was the leading manufacturer, producing 473,341 cars, of

which 433.183 came from Austin Rover and 27.979 came from Jaguar.

Ford production amounted to 318.674. and Vauxhall’s 1983 figure was 126,524.

Talbot U.K.’s output more than doubled on the 1982 figure to 120,503.

Almost simultaneously. Ford announced that its Fiesta, the car that marked the company's entry into the front-wheel-drive market, had topped the 3 million mark on February 1-

Since its first full sales year in 1977, the Fiesta has figured consistently in the

British top 10 best-sellers. Sales in Britain alone now exceed 600.000 out of the European sales total of 2.5 million. An additional 320,000 Fiestas have been sold in North America.

The Fiesta is produced in Britain, West Germany and Spain.