About British Built Cars

www.britishbuiltcars.co.uk was created over thirteen years ago to answer the perennial question: "Exactly which makes and models of car are still made in the UK?" There was much confusion around this subject, due in part to the extensive change in ownership of Britain's major car companies in recent years and the welcome investment in this industry by three major Japanese producers, Nissan, Toyota and Honda. Unfortunately, after many years building cars in this country, Honda closed their plant in Swindon, Wiltshire in 2021. Nissan and Toyota remain committed to production in the UK.

Despite the impression given by media stories over many years, the UK car industry is still in a fairly healthy state despite current political uncertainties and worldwide EV tremors in the new car market. There are several volume manufacturers building high quality, well designed and innovative vehicles in competitive quantities and there is also a very vibrant and growing group of smaller manufacturers producing highly original cars for specialist and niche markets. In particular there is now a buoyant market for continuation models and re-engineered classics, often known as restomods. It's also worth noting that the UK plays host to the largest concentration of motorsport firms in the world, with the majority of the Formula 1 teams based here. 

Over the past five years the British car industry has undergone significant restructuring, shifting from traditional volume production toward electrified platforms, advanced manufacturing and higher‑value specialist output. Major plants have had adapt to EV architectures, while supply chains have been reshored and modernised to improve resilience. Despite global uncertainty UK factories remain competitive, supported by strong engineering capability and export demand. According to the SMMT, UK car production in 2025 totalled 717,371 units, while commercial vehicle (van) output reached 47,344 units, reflecting a challenging year shaped by cyber disruption, tariff pressures and plant consolidation.

Car manufacturing in the UK still directly employs approximately 183,000 people, plus many more in this country's automotive supply chain. It is estimated that every job in UK vehicle assembly supports 7.5 jobs elsewhere in the economy. 

We are in the ongoing process of widening the scope of manufacturers listed on the site to include more motorbikes, specialist and commercial vehicles, all vital parts of the UK's manufacturing base.

www.britishbuiltcars.co.uk features over 100 UK manufacturers producing over 200 different models. We now also list a British-built vans, other specialist vehicles and over 30 models of motorbike made in the UK.

Where the smaller, specialist manufacturers are concerned only 'turnkey' vehicles are listed on this site, but some of their models are also available as self-build projects.