CEO Update

From overcoming barriers to EV adoption, to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), the issues raised and debated at SMMT Open Forum, held at Automechanika Birmingham this week, were legion. However, it was the extent to which the UK’s supply…

The industry’s competing challenges were played out this week: Brexit, a putative trade war and demands to make the UK fit for an electrified future. First, the good news, which came in the form of a production boost across UK…

This week SMMT hosted its annual Test Day, bringing together vehicle manufacturers and hundreds of automotive and business journalists for a day of driving at Millbrook Proving Ground. First held nearly 40 years ago, Test Day remains unique, giving media…

Figures released this week by SMMT show how trends in the new car market play out in the used sector. In particular, the ongoing surge in demand for new, alternatively fuelled vehicles, including zero-emission and plug-in hybrid models, inevitably means…

Debates around Brexit and air quality get a lot of column inches, and understandably so, but in addition to these crucial issues of today, the automotive sector must also look further ahead. The way we live and travel is changing,…

Reaction to the new car market’s growth in April must be cautious. The 10.4% spike is predominantly caused by buying patterns returning to normal following the change to VED last year which saw purchases pulled forward into an already-busy March, destroying…

Yesterday SMMT repeated its call for the UK to remain within a customs union with Europe beyond March 2019, as production news coincided with a House of Commons debate on Britain’s continued membership. As we seek to define our future…

SMMT’s publication of the latest Motorparc data provided some detailed insights into the vehicles on our roads and who is driving them. There are now 11.5 million superminis and 3.5 million dual purpose vehicles on the road; automatic gearboxes have…

  When SMMT set out its Brexit priorities, the need for regulatory alignment was one of the five main pillars. Regulation has become a dirty word in some political circles – its reputation is unwarranted. The rules around manufacturing and…

Unhelpful talk of a crash in new car registrations belies the facts. New car registrations were indeed down in March by -15.7%. Two issues are relevant, however. First, March 2017 was a bumper month, the biggest ever in fact, as…