Philippa Oldham, head of manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, gives her response to the 22% rise in UK car manufacturing reported today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The rise in UK car manufacturing figures is very welcome and shows that the UK can still be a manufacturing powerhouse. But while some industries like car and aerospace manufacturing are bucking the trend and seeing strong growth, recent figures show that UK manufacturing as a whole is still shrinking.
The success of UK car manufacturing should motivate the government to take urgent action to support manufacturing so that we can see other industries become UK success stories.
The government needs to work with industry and other political parties to develop a detailed manufacturing and industrial strategy with cross-party support. Industry needs this certainty and also needs greater access to capital investment in order to invest in new production plants, machinery and training.
