UK auto engine production hits all-time high

And manufacturing output rose by a fifth in March as 271,359 engines rolled off production lines nationwide, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT).

It comes just days after Jaguar Land Rover unveiled the start of petrol engine production at its factory on the i54 site on the border between Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire.

Employment at the factory, which has been making four cylinder Ingenium diesel engines since it opened in 2014, has now reached 1,400, with hundreds more to come with the expansion that is doubling the size of the £1 billion facility to 2 million sq ft.

Scores of smaller companies across the region are making components for British-built engines, while BMW has its own engine plant at Hams Hall employing around 1,000 people.

The SMMT figures show growing overseas demand for British-built engines. In March 153,206 were shipped for export, up 18 per cent on the same month last year.

But, in a reversal of trends so far this year, export growth has been overtaken by demand at home, up 21.4 per cent.

For the first time UK engine production in the first three months of the year exceeded 700,000 units, up 11.4 per cent on last year.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, "While Easter's late arrival was a contributing factor, resulting in more productive hours in the month, it is encouraging to see growth in the domestic market bounce back to deliver a strong year-to-date performance at home and away.

"The results of recent significant investment in engine production capacity are clear to see – and yet more evidence of the sector's ongoing resurgence."