The Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has said the automotive sector can be the driver behind turbocharged UK industrial and economic growth.
In his latest CEO update on Friday, Mike Hawes said:
This week’s long-awaited announcement of an industrial strategy, with government’s Invest 2035 green paper, presents a fresh opportunity to turbocharge UK industrial and economic growth. Automotive can be the driver of this and, as SMMT set out in our Vision 2035 report, with the right conditions has the potential to deliver an economic boost worth more than £50bn during the next decade.
It’s a chance that will not be available forever, however, as global competition is fierce with countries around the world seeking to attract new investment into their own sectors. Fast-tracking the delivery of new technology skills, green infrastructure and strengthened trading relationships are all fundamental. Crucially, so is a healthy domestic market for zero emission vehicles, given the type of investment we have secured in the past year or so and the undoubted commercial benefit for manufacturers of making close to where you sell. Hence the need to drive up consumer confidence and help every driver make the switch.
The Budget on 30 October is an opportunity to remedy this situation with purchase incentives and support for consumers. Cutting VAT on EVs and public charging, delaying certain VED changes and investing in charging infrastructure – but without jeopardising existing business incentives – would spur growth.
Manufacturers are doing their bit, investing billions and bringing ever more models to market, something evident at the Paris Motor Show this week with a raft of launches from established Western brands and many Chinese manufacturers eager to crack the European market. The UK already has more than 115 new electric car models available in its market, along with over 50 of the very greenest vans, trucks and buses. Now it’s about getting them onto our roads in greater numbers.
We look forward to working with government, therefore, to help steer its industrial strategy and the once-in-a-generation manufacturing transition it can deliver – but our markets must transform alongside it. We cannot do one and not the other. If we succeed, the benefits are huge: new jobs and skills across all parts of the country; thriving innovation in all vehicle sectors, which support so many other UK industries; cleaner air and quieter streets; and economic growth that benefits everyone.
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