CEO Update

It has been a good week in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, with the first vaccinations administered across the UK offering up some certainty that life will be able to resume to some sense of normality during 2021. On…

As we turn our backs on November and look towards the final month of what has been an exceptionally tough year for the sector, we finally have some good news as Christmas approaches. With showrooms throughout England now open again…

Most of us are probably finding it difficult to feel any festive cheer as November draws to a close – but the industry remains resilient, and our response to every challenge thrown at us this year has revealed our character:…

This week the Prime Minister outlined the government’s new 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, which included bringing forward the end of sale date for new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 to 2030, and hybrid vehicles…

As UK-EU negotiations on a trade deal enter the endgame, new figures from an SMMT member survey released this week illustrate the scale of preparations made by the automotive sector for the UK leaving the EU. At least £735 million…

This week has seen growing uncertainty across multiple fronts, with England moving into a new lockdown, a second wave of coronavirus bringing fresh restrictions across the Continent and a dramatic, perhaps unprecedented, US Presidential Election, which, at the time of…

It has been a year of unprecedented challenge for the automotive sector, and as a second wave of coronavirus sweeps across Europe, this week has seen more regions in the UK move into Tier 3 restrictions, with more likely to…

This week SMMT has once again urged the UK government and the EU to re-engage with vigour in the Brexit negotiation process, so we welcome the news that both sides are now back around the table. New SMMT calculations illustrate…

The announcement today from the Prime Minister regarding the ongoing EU-UK trade negotiations has further raised the political stakes as he issued a strong statement for businesses to prepare for no deal, while asking the EU to change their approach…

The automotive industry has demonstrated incredible resilience during what has been a damaging year for both vehicle manufacturing and sales, two critical contributors to the UK economy. In the important month of September, the number of new cars registered by…