World

Car manufacturing drives UK economy's return to growth

Jan 15, 2026

Land Rover Freelander vehicles are stockpiled in Halewood, Liverpool — Industrial output included a 25 per cent rise in car manufacturing after JLR's plants reopened. -AP

Britain's economy grew more strongly than expected in November, boosted ‍by the return to normal production at Jaguar Land Rover after a cyberattack that hit the car maker and its suppliers.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Gross domestic ⁠product expanded by 0.3 per cent on the month after an unrevised drop of 0.1 per cent in October, official data showed on Thursday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that GDP would expand by 0.1 per cent ‌on a month-on-month basis.

Just under half of November's growth was accounted ‍for by a 1.1 per cent rise in industrial output, which in turn was driven by a 25 per cent rise in car production after JLR's plants reopened - the biggest monthly increase in car production since July 2020.

Output in Britain's ‌dominant services sector also grew by more than expected in November, rising by 0.3 per cent from October when it fell by 0.3 per cent.

Previous surveys of ‍Britain's economy had shown some signs of stumbling before finance minister Rachel Reeves' annual budget statement on November 26 as speculation about possible tax increases weighed on the economy.

The Bank of England expects Britain's economy to have shown zero growth in the October-to-December period of 2025, although it thinks underlying growth is running about 0.2 per cent a quarter.

In the three months to November, the economy grew by 0.1 per cent, the ‍Office for National Statistics said.