CEO Update

Honda’s announcement this week that it plans to close its Swindon plant in 2021 is devastating news for the people who work directly for the company but also for those in the supply chain, and a blow to UK automotive…

Used car sales figures were released by SMMT this week, with the UK market ending 2018 -2.1% down on the year before. With only 167,980 fewer second hand cars changing hands during the 12 months it was the third highest…

January new car registration figures were released this week but, just as one swallow doesn’t make a summer, so we’re going to have to wait a little longer to see how the 2019 market performs. The first month of the…

With less than two months to go until the Article 50 Brexit deadline, the industry still has no certainty as to our long term relationship with our biggest trading partner or, indeed, what that relationship will be in only 55…

Brexit remains a critical issue – and we’re continuing to stress the catastrophic impact a disorderly exit would have on our sector with all stakeholders, notably this week with an All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group breakfast. But the industry isn’t standing…

Yet another week with lots of news coming out of Westminster, but a distinct and deeply concerning lack of progress on protecting our industry from the threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. We’ve made it clear that time is rapidly…

A rude awakening to 2019. Any remaining festive cheer has been quickly extinguished by a raft of negative news for the industry. Brexit uncertainty, job cuts and car registration figures showing a -6.8% drop overall in 2018 make for a…

Manufacturing figures for November were released this week, showing a significant -19.6% drop in UK production compared with the same month last year, driven primarily by a reduction in cars built for export abroad but exacerbated by declining consumer and…

For much of the latter part of the year, every week has been seen as a ‘crunch’ week in the progress of Brexit negotiations, with tough decisions needing to be made and the stakes getting ever higher. Without consensus in…

It has been a tumultuous year for new car registrations, with many factors conspiring to depress the market at a time when it needs stability. But we have reason to be confident despite the declining registration figures, because the range…