Are you looking to build up your contacts or expand your business in China? SMMT will be finishing up 2018 and starting 2019 with back-to-back visits to China. The end of November sees us return to Shanghai for Automechanika from…

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee of the House of Commons has this week called for the government’s proposed 2040 target for ending the sale of conventional powertrains to be brought forward to 2032. The 2040 target is…

We were surprised and disappointed to hear this week that the government has decided to alter its plug-in car grant system drastically, excluding anything that does fewer than 70 miles on a full charge. It’s astonishing to think that merely…

It’s been a difficult year trying to predict how new car registrations will behave – supply issues and consumer hesitancy have disguised the fact that the industry is in a good position to deal with upcoming challenges. The newly introduced…

While the political focus of the industry and, indeed, the SMMT has been on Brexit, future trade challenges are not confined to Europe. Across the pond, President Trump has already raised tariffs on steel and aluminium, tariffs that are costing…

UK engine production stable in August, with 0.3% growth. Exports up 24.9%, offsetting decline in output for UK due to model and structural changes. Year-to-date production boosted to 1.8m units as global demand for UK’s high-tech, low emission powertrains continues.…

UK CV manufacturing falls -1.6% in August, with 3,685 units rolling off production lines. Output declines for both home and overseas markets, down -3.4% and -0.2% respectively. 52,478 vans, trucks and buses produced so far this year, down -2.9% on…

UK car manufacturing declines -12.9% in August, with 89,254 units produced. Production for home market falls -38.8%, but exports remain relatively stable, down -3.8%. 1,044,707 cars built YTD, falling -5.2%, with eight in ten destined for overseas markets. UK car…

This week SMMT headed to Brussels, meeting with industry organisations and decision makers to illustrate the impact of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. It was part of efforts to make sure that negotiators in the EU, as well as in the UK,…

There was a flurry of interest in zero emission vehicles this week, with Cenex-LCV 2018 enjoying record visitor numbers and the prime minister announcing £106m of investment for ULEV research and development. The government has set out its ambitions in…