Wake-up call amid plummeting car production figures

“For months now we have been warning government that without direct intervention, investment and support, the on-going uncertainty and instability facing the sector will put hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs at risk, and threaten the transition of the sector from combustion engines to electric and alternate fuels.

“Suppressed consumer demand due to the dire economic outlook and a collapse of both consumer confidence and access to forecourts during prolonged lockdowns is having a devastating impact on the sector rightly seen as a jewel in the crown of the manufacturing sector. 

“The first thing that the government should do is to announce an extension of the furlough scheme beyond April to ensure that skilled workers are not sent to the dole queue before a recovery gets underway.

"Secondly, the automotive industry is crying out for active government engagement and imaginative support to help build domestic and overseas markets.

“Long-term security of access to the European Union for UK manufacturers is essential given its position as the largest customer for the vehicles UK workers produce.

“Finally, as has been repeatedly pointed out by both Unite and the employers federation, the SMMT, the UK is lagging far behind our competitors in both creating the infrastructure and supporting a supply chain transition to ensure that we are in pole position to build the next generation of electric vehicles here in the UK.

"There are 800,000 direct jobs at stake in the sector, many of them in the midlands and northern towns.  This is an industry that is strategically and economically critical to the government’s levelling up strategy and meeting its environmental targets, but it needs rapid engagement from the government if it’s to both rise to the challenges before us and ensure it has a thriving future."