UK car output falls 27% in August amid chip shortage

LONDON (Reuters) - British car production dropped by 27% year-on-year in August as a lack of semiconductor chips continues to hurt the sector worldwide, a trade industry body said on Thursday.

The timing and duration of summer shutdowns at certain plants also pushed down output, which stood at 37,246 cars, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

There were big drops in the number of vehicles exported to Australia, the United States and China, whilst sales to the EU were only down 4.9%, and vehicles destined for domestic buyers rose 3.3%, figures showed.

"Carmakers and their suppliers are battling to keep production lines rolling with constraints expected to continue well into 2022 and possibly beyond," said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas. Editing by Andrew MacAskill)