British car production is accelerating, driven by demand from Europe, according to figures released yesterday.

A total of 142,158 cars was manufactured in Britain in March, a 12 per cent rise on the March 2013 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) said.

Automotive union Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke welcomed the news saying the efforts and sacrifices of automotive workers since 2008 had gotten the industry back on track.

Last month’s figure brought the year’s production total to date to nearly 405,000 — a 2.9 per cent increase on the January-March 2013 total.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “This is a welcome boost for the UK’s volume manufacturers. As new models are launched and investments realised, the sector remains on-course for all-time record levels of output by 2017.”

But Mr Burke warned that manufacturing in Britain was still struggling overall.