Plant revamps push UK car production down 3 pct in September

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - British car production fell by nearly 3 percent year-on-year in September as plants prepared for new models, an industry body said on Thursday, but output in 2014 is still on course to hit its highest level in six years.

Car (HKSE: 0699.HK - news) production fell by 2.8 percent from September 2013 to 137,068 vehicles, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Japanese automaker Honda, which built one in 10 of Britain's 1.5 million cars last year, said it switched in September from its 2014 Civic hatchback and CR-V Sports Utility vehicles to new 2015 models, affecting output.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said that, despite September's fall, he was confident production in Britain would continue to return towards pre-recession levels.

"The continued investment by the sector into new models means the September figures took a slight dip as some plants underwent re-tooling, but it is these same new models which will help increase production volumes in the future," he said.

Britain produced 1.13 million cars in the first nine months of 2014, more than any year since the 2008-9 financial crisis after which sales and output nosedived, leading the government to introduce incentives for buyers to scrap old cars for new ones.

Since then, buoyant sales -- often funded by cheap credit -- have helped push output back towards pre-crisis levels. Britain is expected to build 2 million cars in 2017, according to SMMT forecasts, surpassing an all-time high of 1.92 set in 1972.

Further growth is expected from new models including BMW's Mini 5 door and Jaguar Land Rover's Jaguar XE, which was launched last month. (Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by William Schomberg and Mark Potter)