- Until the late 60s, England was ahead of France in terms of car production volume. While production in France continued to grow in the 70s, 80s and 90s, Britain experienced a serious crisis in its automobile industry, which was responsible for the disappearance of a dozen major brands (Austin, Morris, Triumph, Hillman, Sunbeam, etc.).

- In the 2000s, French manufacturers relocated an important part of their production, which mechanically weakens the volume of production conducted in France. At the same time, in England, the arrival of Japanese manufacturers (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) and the recovery of local carmakers such as Mini (BMW), Jaguar and Land Rover (Tata Motors) had the effect of boosting production in England, even though GM and Ford were steadily reducing their implementation. In 2012, the gap has never been so narrow between England and France (since 1970) for the above : 1.6 million vehicles produced in England against 2 million in France.

- In the future production in France, however, will remain higher than in England. Indeed, France has an installed production capacity of 3 million vehicles per year and different announcements by carmakers call for a revival of production on French soil. At the same time, the installed capacity in England does not exceed 2 million vehicles per year and their are no new plant openings and no plant projects have been announced. Theoretically, therefore, there cannot be a strong growth in the automobile production in England in the coming years.

Data source: File #101 - Worldwide production detailed by models