CEO Update

With the ninth round of EU-UK trade talks concluding this week, time is running out to secure a comprehensive deal before the end of the transition period. As the nation’s biggest exporter of goods, and with hundreds of thousands of…

The Chancellor’s job support scheme announced yesterday is welcome and should provide some temporary relief for the automotive sector, which has been so badly hit by the pandemic, as too will new flexibilities on government loan schemes and tax deferrals.…

The coronavirus crisis remains a significant challenge, particularly as autumn approaches with cases rising and local lockdowns coming into force. But with little more than three months before the Brexit transition period expires, however, we have another immense threat ahead…

This week marks the start of the 8th round of UK-EU trade talks, yet we are still no closer to knowing the exact nature of our trading relationships across the Channel from 1 January. In the absence of clarity, SMMT…

Car makers have invested billions of pounds in an ever-growing range of electrified vehicles, many of which were on display at a special test drive event, hosted in a socially distanced way, at Millbrook Proving Ground this week. The first…

Calls for additional support for the HGV sector grew this week with the deeply concerning news that registrations of new HGVs fell by -73.4% in the second quarter. While it is important to be mindful of the pronounced boost the…

With full lockdown measures in place for the whole of April and May, the impact on the used car market, albeit devastating, is not surprising. According to the latest figures released by SMMT this week, the market for second-hand cars…

The number of new cars registered by UK buyers rose by 11.3% in July, according to the latest figures released by SMMT this week. The year’s first month of growth offers a reprieve for the industry as dealerships across the…

Production figures released this week by SMMT reaffirm the difficulties that all automotive businesses are facing as they try to restart while major markets attempt simultaneously to recover from a pandemic and tackle unprecedented sectoral challenges. Whilst June marked an…

As another week of trade talks between the UK and EU comes to a close, the automotive industry is no nearer to knowing whether a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement will be in place by the end of the Transition Period…