The continuing collapse of the UK car industry in the EU

The latest figures for car output and sales confirm the long downtrend which the UK government started with their Vehicle Excise tax hikes in the Spring of 2017 with the Bank of England assisting with their squeeze on car loans. For many recent months there has also been a parallel fall in car sales in China, the USA, and especially on the continent of the EU. I forecast here the impending decline of car manufacturing following the 2017 budget measures and money squeeze. In the USA higher interest rates on car loans did not help. In China a 10% purchase tax hit sales. On the continent the general economic downturn, regulatory changes over emissions and the attack on diesels also damaged car sales.

What is curious is the SMMT and some others who claim to speak for the UK industry go on and on about the damaging consequences of Brexit when we have not left and when this downturn is the result of several forces which have nothing whatsoever to do with Brexit. Why don’t they speak out about the tax hikes here and in China that have hit demand? Why don’t they discuss what is an affordable and responsible level of new credit to buy cars? Why don’t they comment on how the shift to a strong attack on diesels by the EU and various governments including the UK have upended the big investment in diesel powered vehicles the EUK industry has recently made? Why don’t they discuss how they will design and invest in a new generation of electric cars that enough people want to buy, if that is the agreed way to the future for the industry and governments?

UK March car output was down by 14%. The SMMT predicts a total production of 1.36m cars this year in the UK, down from 1.52 million last year. The main manufacturers are scrambling to shut down excess diesel car capacity, much of it modern and expensive, whilst trying to design and invest in new hybrid or electric vehicles. There is not yet much customer enthusiasm for the new electric cars governments want them to sell making judging the new investment difficult. The industry also decide to hold the usual summer shutdowns of plant for holidays and maintenance around the original date for Brexit, so the April figures will carry the impact of that as well. The industry could not even work with the government it seems so close to to be able to arrange the closedown at the right time for Brexit, given their unjustified pessimism about the process.

197 Comments

  1. Mark B
    May 1, 2019

    Good morning

    I hear that JLR is to move production of the Discovery to Slovakia. How much money were they offered by the EU to make my countrymen unemployed ?

    Our kind host mentioned that the government want us to switch to electric cars but people are resistant. This is the problem, government has taken upon itself to decide what is good or not, and whether we want it or not. That scenario has a name, it is called TYRRANY.

    1. oldtimer
      May 1, 2019

      Production of the Discovery was moved to Slovakia last September/October. Although not formally announced or confirmed until yesterday, it has long been expected that the new Land Rover would be built there too.

      JLR received financial inducements to make the move; indeed it played the field to see who offered it the best deal. But more important still were two other considerations: an expansion of capacity inside a key market (the continental EU) and much lower labour costs in Slovakia Vs the UK.

      1. Ernie Shaw
        May 1, 2019

        If there is a choice – and there is a choice – between investing in the UK post Brexit, a market of 60 million, and the EU-27, a market of 400 million, it is a no-brainer. Brexit is the biggest disincentive to investing in the UK ever invented. We are losing investment and jobs every day

        1. oldtimer
          May 1, 2019

          The decision to invest in a new factory was made before Brexit hove in view. Such decisions have long lead times and are made years ahead of the start of actual production.

        2. Mike Wilson
          May 1, 2019

          The cat is out of the bag now. Even if we stay in, investors will always be worried that a future government will take us out. Mind you, the same could happen in a number of EU member states. Best to locate in France I would have thought. Oh no, hold on, they have a political party with a lot of support that wants to Leave.

        3. L Jones
          May 1, 2019

          Ernie, perhaps you’d give us a clue as to where you get your information: ”… losing investment and jobs every day….”
          It’d be interesting to know where we can read this for ourselves.

        4. Caterpillar
          May 1, 2019

          Although it is confidence in the mid-term (3-5 years) not near or long that seems impacted – perhaps the timescale of May, Hammond, Corbyn et al. The lack of clean leave or honest remain is huge uncertainty. Every step the Govt takes (e.g. cancelling the no deal preparations, the no deal ferry contracts) is a signal that the UK is not cleanly leaving or honestly staying, it is a medium term drag out with no clarity.

        5. John Wood
          May 1, 2019

          Other than the fact that UK is still one of the major investment destination in the World, I would agree with you.

        6. The Quiet Man
          May 1, 2019

          Absolute tosh you choose to ignore the thousands of British jobs lost through the EUs policy of giving grants to move production from the UK.
          Just a small example Cadbury , Ford Transit , Jaguar Land Rover , Peugeot , Gillette even Dyson got an EU loan to move to Malaysia.
          Then look at billions spent by the UK train companies forced to buy rolling stock from Europe, Siemens alone got Ā£14 billion not one British job created.
          The sooner we are rid of the EU shackles the better.

        7. Mick Anderson
          May 1, 2019

          So why not move production out to China, where there is a market of 1 billion and manufacturing costs are even cheaper?

          If you read the press you will find that there is a lot of investment in the UK. However, manufacturing, especially of vehicles, is moving away. Nothing to do with Brexit, largely to do with extreme energy costs, increasing labour costs, and inconsistent Government.

          Yes, I know, don’t feed the trolls.

        8. Dennis Zoff
          May 2, 2019

          Ernie Shaw

          Nonsense…more Remainer sophistry!

          Real facts: Foreign Direct Investment in the United Kingdom increased by 15947 GBP Million in the fourth quarter of 2018. 2019 outlook positive. Source: Tradingeconomics.

          It is somewhat tiresome to continuously point out the erroneous “aka made up facts and figures” from Remainers.

          You are forgetting there are professional business individuals on here that deal in trading economics (inward investment) as a business and can smell fictitious balderdash a mile off?

          1. acorn
            May 2, 2019

            As an expert then (who uses the wrong expert terms), you can explain why 50% of what appears to be total foreign direct investment comes into shell companies (SPE/ SPV), resident in the UK. An SPE then washes most of the tax liabilities out of the FDI and passes it on as a tax avoiding security, to one of the UK’s offshore tax havens.

            In the trade it is known as BEPS (OECD term). The IMF did a exposĆ© on it last year titled “Piercing the Veil”.

          2. Edward2
            May 2, 2019

            It was a quote from trading economics
            Which I saw and read too, saying inward investment into the UK was still good and better than many EU nations.
            Despite all your remain Project fear warnings acorn.

          3. Dennis Zoff
            May 2, 2019

            acorn

            If no UK laws have been broken your comment is immaterial.

            It is either lawful inward investment or it is not. Tradingeconomics deals with the former, as do we!

    2. Ginty
      May 1, 2019

      Greta, David, Emma and Extinction Rebellion *want* us to switch to electric cars (in effect meaning very many people will be priced out of cars.) So this agenda will be followed as they provide a human shield for the Communist agenda our *real* leaders want.

      This is to affect other things. Expect BBQs, firework displays, central heating, cooking, ironing… to be priced out of reach.

      All will be blamed on Brexit.

      PS – The BBC today on bags-for-life. My wife and I have been using the same bags for years now. These have become unacceptable and now they want us to buy paper ones which do not last as long.

      Let’s rewind. The original campaign was against light plastic bags which ended up wrapped around turtles after being blown into the sea. Mission accomplished on that but obviously nothing is good enough.

      In that time the councils switched us to open collection boxes for recycling and now any benefits from our switch to bags for life have been negated many times over by the amount of light plastic being blown around the streets from the boxes – which I have to pick up every week because no-one else bothers.

      When will this government insanity end ? Nothing we do will offset what China, India and America are doing and we most certainly will not be leading in example.

    3. Jagman84
      May 1, 2019

      They were paid the cost savings of moving production to Mexico. Circa, Ā£117 m. Regardless of the eventual destination, it was older tech that was moved out of the UK to make space for the almost mandatory electric /hybrid vehicle production. Staying in the UK was never an option.

      1. Andy
        May 1, 2019

        Remember how, before June 2016, you also used to blame the EU when any ā€˜British business and jobsā€™ moved to the EU.

        Now British business is moving to the EU you all deny it has anything at all to do with Brexit.

        Oh look, a fairy.

        1. Jagman84
          May 1, 2019

          I didnā€™t, but others may have. Having worked in the business for near on 40 years I know the inside stories, as a opposed to the public spin. Thanks for this monthā€™s pension, by the way. Keep working hard!
          Ps Let is know when brexit actually happens. Then we may see whether or not you are correct. IMHO, the anti-Brexiteers are the biggest threat to our economy.

        2. Mike Wilson
          May 1, 2019

          It’s a good example of the world in general. I watched a documentary on the box a while ago about a British company, based in the North, who made toilet cubicles and the fittings you get behind urinals etc. in toilets in commercial buildings. The documentary was about their move to Slovakia. They sold the vast majority of their goods in the UK.

          They were offered incentives to move to Slovakia – no business rates for a number of years and a subsidy on the costs of setting up their factory there. They could do this without any worries about selling back into the (their main) UK market because we are both members of the EU. The cost of labour in Slovakia made the move a no-brainer for the company.

          I find it difficult to see what we get out this arrangement.

          The same is true, of course, on a global scale as developing nations offer companies from developed nations incentives and cheaper labour. The result is a massive increase in goods being made in countries with dirty energy production and further environmental damage caused by the transport of those goods to market.

          Our membership of the EU is relatively uninteresting as far as all this goes. We need to grow our own food, produce our own energy and produce as much as possible of the goods we consume. We need to do this for the sake of the environment and for the sake of our society. There is no advantageous to us, as a society, if we keep outsourcing jobs to other countries.

        3. L Jones
          May 1, 2019

          Andy – perhaps it hasn’t quite dawned upon you yet that we are STILL in the EU. Blame what you will on Brexit AFTER we’ve left your much-revered and very expensive ‘club’.

        4. libertarian
          May 1, 2019

          Andy

          Dont be harsh on yourself , you’re not a fairy you’re just not very bright. Its not your fault

          In other Jaguar Land Rover news…
          ā–ŖļøBuilding a new battery assembly plant at Hams Hall, near Birmingham
          ā–ŖļøSetting up its existing Ā£1bn Engine Manufacturing Centre to make electric drive systems
          ā–ŖļøInvesting Ā£millions in the UK as it electrifies its range

    4. NickC
      May 1, 2019

      Mark B, The government’s attempt at forcing pure electric cars on all of us from 2040 will fail. My calculations indicate that replacing all vehicles with pure electric requires us to more than double the number of electricity generation plants (assuming the same capacity mix as now).

      We struggle to build the plants to cope with existing demand (hence “smart” meter rationing coming your way). We would have to build around 40 new power plants (capacity mix as now) every year from now to 2040 to be ready. And that’s not counting the complete transport infrastructure needing to be replaced. It is lunacy.

      1. Turboterrier.
        May 1, 2019

        NickC

        Totally agree

      2. hefner
        May 1, 2019

        Assuming an electric car runs on average 100 km per day on a 10kWh and 36 million electric cars by 2040 (practically all cars would have to be electric by that time) thatā€™s an energy requirement for 360.10^6 kWh, i.e. 360 GWh. Present nuclear plants have a sustained power of 1GW. 18 new such plants (of the present type) working full tilt for 20 hours a day would provide these 360GWh for all these new electric cars. This would require planning by all involved (government, private energy and distribution companies) but is obviously possible. It would also require a huge expansion of the network of charging points (both domestic and along the roads), but would our privatized energy companies not be able to provide for that?

      3. libertarian
        May 1, 2019

        NickC

        Added to which they propose banning new build gas boilers from 2025 too, more electric needed for the replacement

      4. Lifelogic
        May 1, 2019

        Lunacy indeed. So many daft, dim, virtue signalling politicians with zero grasp of engineering or any scientific reality. “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled.” As Richard Feynman sensibly put it.

    5. Steve
      May 1, 2019

      Mark B

      “I hear that JLR is to move production of the Discovery to Slovakia. How much money were they offered by the EU to make my countrymen unemployed ?”

      Importantly; we need to know the identities of those who got rich by this.

      The Marque will suffer badly because of the move. Some of the new Jags are made in Austria so I hear……so they’re not really Jaguars.

      I hope it brings them financial disaster. If I wanted a slavic made vehicle, I’d buy a Skoda.

    6. Mark B
      May 1, 2019

      Sorry off-topic.

      I was wondering what has happened to Denis Cooper ?
      He has not posted for a while. You have not banned him have you, Sir John.

      Reply No, I have not banned him but did suggest he stopped pursuing the same argument day after day about whether the WA is leaving or not.

      1. Mark B
        May 2, 2019

        Many thanks.

  2. Ian wragg
    May 1, 2019

    How can they when no one knows when or if there will be a Brexit.
    May clings on and you are powerless to move her. Meanwhile every trick in the book is being used to get her dreaded WA passed.

    1. Newmania
      May 1, 2019

      Ian , if you lived in any sort of Commercial environment you would know that the fact there may be a No Deal Brexit means all plans must assume that worst case. Our company has been planning for No Deal, for several years and even now it is causing headaches
      Of course we don`t have the benefit of a captain of industry such as Sir John to tell us we don`t know what we are talking about and have to muddle through in ignorance ……..

      1. Sir Joe Soap
        May 1, 2019

        You could have saved yourself the headaches. Nothing has changed.

      2. libertarian
        May 1, 2019

        Newmania

        I can imagine the kind of ignorant company that would employ you. You’ve been battling with no deal for years….. ha ha ha . It is absolutely easy and simple for anyone thats ever exported anything. I’m happy to come and sort it out for you. 2 days work tops

      3. Ginty
        May 1, 2019

        It is Brexit *uncertainty* which is the biggest headache.

        *Uncertainty*

        And whose fault is that then ?

        1. Ginty
          May 1, 2019

          The only definition of Brexit that counts is the one that was in the Government leaflet for the referendum.

          Remainers have forced us to spend three years arguing about it.

      4. acorn
        May 1, 2019

        Brexit uncertainty is causing British Steel to have missed out on its issue of Carbon Credits (ETS) and can’t pay last years bill. The Treasury is buying Ā£100 million worth of credits for this private equity owned company, at a commercial loan rate of interest to avoid EU and WTO state subsidy rules.

        “A spokesman for British Steel declined to expand on a statement issued earlier this month, which said: “Brexit is presenting a range of challenges to every British company and we are not immune.” (MSN.)

        1. Know-Dice
          May 1, 2019

          And hopefully the British Government will take the EU to the ECJ as we are STILL a fully paid up member of the EU and entitled to the “benefit” of that membership.

      5. NickC
        May 1, 2019

        Newmania, You are wrong, my source inside London banking says that banks have planned for all possibilities from the worst – Leave discarded – to the best – leaving the EU treaties. If I still had my small business that’s what I would do too, given Theresa May’s attempts to overthrow our democracy. Of course if the government actually implemented Leave all businesses would know where they stood.

    2. Julie Dyson
      May 1, 2019

      I have to agree, Ian. It’s interesting (in a car-crash sort of way — no pun intended) that it used to be a case of “because we voted leave”, which gradually became “despite Brexit…” when our leave vote turned out to actually have little negative effect on the economy. Nowadays it’s more a case of “because we still haven’t bloody left!“.

      When one day historians look back, I rather suspect the latter will prove the most profound, truthful and damaging statement of all.

    3. Ian wragg
      May 1, 2019

      All the papers are reporting that May is going to agree to a Customs Union to placate Liebor.
      Surely the last move to collapse the government and install Corbyn.

  3. Stephen Priest
    May 1, 2019

    The free market reacts to what customers need and want. If customers don’t want it or need it they don’t buy it.

    Government tries to tell customers what the need and want. Governments will try and force an idea through until the bitter end without an obvious demand, and at whatever cost: smart meters, electric cars, wind farms, HS2.

    Why would any one even buy a hybrid car if they might be banned?

    By the way Corbyn campaigned to reopen coal mines in 2015. He’s never really been green in the same way that he’s always hated the EU.

  4. Mick
    May 1, 2019

    And what about the thousands of jobs lost in the motor industry since we joined the dreaded Eu, this great country once had bountiful of car industries all over but with the help of Westminster/Europe most went to the wall along with rail steel and shipping jobs thatā€™s what this snowflake generation canā€™t comprehend , the only people who will rejoice at car cut backs are the flip flop wearing tree hugging cave dwellers who made London a laughing stock muppets

    1. Andy
      May 1, 2019

      London a laughingstock?

      Itā€™s the worldā€™s most successful city.

      Have you ever even been?

      Or do the foreigners scare you away?

      1. Fred H
        May 1, 2019

        Andy…I finally agree with you. I think it should and was meant to say London’s politics are now a laughing stock. London is still right up with the best for tourism, work, aspirations for living, investing etc. But your last point is of some concern. It is true that travelling, site seeing, a one-objective trip, has the impact of the city feeling so cosmopolitan, it could be mistaken on the streets for almost anywhere.

        1. Mike Wilson
          May 1, 2019

          As a Londoner who got out years ago, most areas of London are complete dumps. Infested by drug gangs, the threat of violence is everywhere. High Streets filled with manky looking takeaways, rubbish and graffiti everywhere. Itā€™s not all South Kensington.

      2. Mick
        May 1, 2019

        I donā€™t normally reply comment but on this occasion yes Andy Iā€™ve been a few times to London in the 60s and 70s which were fab but from my visits in the 90s to now you can keep it, Iā€™ll stick to revisits of Mexico Cuba USA and France were there was a lot better feel to a place , and as for your stupid remark about being scared of foreigners Iā€™ll remind you Iā€™m a northerner and scared of nobody

      3. libertarian
        May 1, 2019

        Andy

        Can you really not read simple sentences ? He was talking about the idiot green protesters

        You’re right the City of London is worlds number one city for Financial Services, Fin Tech and Digital Start ups. Its why the EU are trying to ban/over regulate all those areas

      4. Steve
        May 1, 2019

        No, but the germs do.

    2. margaret howard
      May 1, 2019

      Mick

      “flip flop wearing tree hugging cave dwellers who made London a laughing stock muppets”

      It wasn’t ‘tree hugging cave dwellers’ that destroyed our industries but greedy bosses who flogged off our industry to the highest bidders.

      And Thatcher changed our industry from manufacturing to service/finance in her effort to kill off the unions.

      1. Steve
        May 1, 2019

        MH

        “And Thatcher changed our industry from manufacturing to service….”

        Actually, Ms Howard, it was Wilson.

        1. Edward2
          May 1, 2019

          And customers who changed to buying from non UK companies.

  5. J Bush
    May 1, 2019

    At present if I wish to visit relatives in Snowdonia, I can drive there in 4 – 5 hours averaging 50mph for the whole journey, with possibly a ‘pitt stop’ for myself. How many stops would I have to make if had an electric car and how much longer would my journey take?

    If I used the train, I would also need a taxi from station to destination, how many times would the taxi driver have to stop to recharge throughout a working day and how much he have to put the fare to compensate?

    That is just one reason why there is little enthusiasm for electric cars and there is a mountain of others underneath.

    One of the biggest problems with career politicians who have not lived in the ‘real world’ is they can’t do joined-up thinking.

    1. Dennisa
      May 1, 2019

      When I sit in a traffic queue on the M4, which fortunately I only do occasionally, I wonder what it would be like if they were all electric, especially in winter, with the heater working, lights on.

      How would they deal with thousands of dead cars whose batteries had run flat?

      1. Bob
        May 1, 2019

        What happens when an electric car run out of juice on a motorway. The RAC can’t just put a can of diesel in to get it to the next filling station.

        I guess it would meed a recovery truck.
        That’s gonna keep the breakdown services busy.

        1. Fedupsoutherner
          May 1, 2019

          What happens when you are half way through a journey or a working day and your electric car needs charging when the power companies decide that a particular area is to be switched off via our smart meters? I think we will all be in the s**t.

        2. Emlyn John
          May 1, 2019

          Diesel-powered Breakdown Truck no doubt – as with other Emergency Response vehicles/Coastguard/RNLI etc.,etc.

      2. Lifelogic
        May 1, 2019

        More to the point what if stuck in a snow drift crossing the Pennines for the night. How would they get thousands of cars with flat batteries going the next morning when each takes hours to recharge?

      3. Stred
        May 1, 2019

        How would they deal with the drivers stuck in a 40 C heatwave on the M25 with no air con and a flag knackered battery?

    2. Andy
      May 1, 2019

      It depends which electric car you have. But some have a range of up to 300 miles so – depending where you live – you will probably not need to make a pit stop at all.
      And you could do you journey at 50mph. Lucky you.

      Iā€™m afraid you guys are all a decade behind where the technology is.

      1. Edward2
        May 1, 2019

        Up to being the operative word Andy.
        Divide the max range by two.
        Then after a number of years that will reduce as well.
        Like the capacity of your mobile phone to hold a charge.

        If you can find a charging point on the open road and get it to work properly.

      2. Al
        May 1, 2019

        So visiting my family 500 miles away would require an overnight stop to charge, putting the journey time up by twelve hours each way and add the cost of two overnight hotel stops to the trip. Isn’t progress wonderful?

        Also, I’m not sure electric cars handle fields and rural tracks very well. I do know self-driving cars do not.

        1. Steve
          May 1, 2019

          AI

          “Also, Iā€™m not sure electric cars handle fields and rural tracks very well”

          As a matter of fact AI, in terms of traction to each wheel independently, they do rather well. Another reason is their constant torque under stall conditions.

          However, as you might have guessed; the batteries go flat.

      3. libertarian
        May 1, 2019

        Andy

        Oh my word . The current longest range electric vehicle in actual road tests is the Nissan Leaf at 226 miles. Andy you fool that means you can only drive 123 miles BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO COME BACK

        London to Manchester is 321 miles so yes you do need pit stops

        1. Andy
          May 1, 2019

          Um – in other news petrol cars need filling up too. It depend on the car, the size of the tank, where you are going, on what sort of roads, the traffic and the speed. Electric cars are no different.

          1. Edward2
            May 1, 2019

            With petrol it is once every 400 or 500 miles which takes just a few minutes.

          2. Fedupsoutherner
            May 1, 2019

            Andy, you must have mislaid that single brain cell. Filling with petrol is a 5 min job. Charging your car takes a lot longer. When full, my 2.4 diesel will travel 460 miles and I can rely on it.

      4. Steve
        May 1, 2019

        “Iā€™m afraid you guys are all a decade behind where the technology is.”

        …and this coming from someone who doesn’t know one end of a spanner from the other.

  6. Adam
    May 1, 2019

    The nation is congested with too many cars caused by too many people within a tight space.

    Present-day cars are mostly unimaginative designs copying what others produce. Difference is the essence of existence. More creativity is needed.

    1. Lifelogic
      May 1, 2019

      We need some more road space, bridges, tunnels etc. especially with driverless cars and taxis on the way. Endless congestion is not good for productivity or peopleā€™s blood pressure.

  7. Richard1
    May 1, 2019

    We should recall that Japanese car manufacturers threatened to leave the UK if we didnā€™t join the euro. I suppose it might have been convenient for them in some respects if we had, but thank Goodness we didnā€™t. The euro was urged on us also by much of the political and economic establishment and of course many of those who are today most prominent in calling for stopping Brexit. It seems likely that that with the EU-Japan FTA (which will doubtless be extended to the UK should we actually leave the EU, perhaps even more extensively if we join TPP), there will be increasing displacements of Japanese car production in Europe by direct imports. If thereā€™s a growing car industry here in 15 years its likely to be due to new producers such as the likes of Dyson and Radcliffe.

    1. Mitchel
      May 1, 2019

      And then there’s the BRI effect-after the Chinese bought Volvo cars they moved production of key models to China.These are now sent to western Europe by rail through Kazakhstan,Russia,Belarus and Poland.A journey of 20 days-versus 60 by sea before.

      Expect more of this.

  8. bigneil
    May 1, 2019

    Was car output down due to car sales being down? If so was car sales down due to prices too high or people not having spare cash to buy a new one? I’ve NEVER had a new car and i’m a pensioner, who has worked over 40 years. My 56 Reg Focus with 70k on the clock goes well, has just sailed through it’s MoT test and is obviously cheaper to insure than a brand new vehicle. It will do me fine for now.

    1. Andy
      May 1, 2019

      Donā€™t be so sure about the insurance. We swapped a very old car for a brand new car last year. Surprisingly our insurance costs more than halved.

      Why, I asked – when this new car is worth several times the amount of the old one.

      I was told because the new model has significantly better security – making theft a non issue. And also because it has sensors, lane warnings and other such technology it makes it significantly harder to crash too.

      1. Fred H
        May 1, 2019

        Andy… thats on the premise that YOU will be doing the crashing. Claims point out that 1 driver is typically guilty of damaging another car, and often more than 1 car, property and worse human being. As for security there is growing evidence of the devices being outwitted by the techie assault. Insurance stategies are often nonsensical. Repair costs often not properly taken into account for the bulk of minor claims. Replacing lights, wings, mirrors, boot dents etc can be horrendous due to poor engineering/design concept.

      2. Mark
        May 1, 2019

        Good motorists rarely cause crashes. However, they can’t always manage to escape being involved in a crash when there are bad motorists on the roads. That’s why insurance premiums tend to vary significantly according to where you live: bad motorists (uninsured, no MOT often to boot) tend to be found in large numbers in particular areas. If there is a higher risk of damage to your new all singing and dancing vehicle, the repairs will be much more expensive to replace all its sensors etc. Insurance is also clearly age related, with rates falling until you approach old age when alertness levels start to drop.

  9. Dominic
    May 1, 2019

    Compared to the possibility of a Marxist Labour government this issue is of absolute insignificance. I have no idea why our kind host thinks this issue warrants so much attention when there are issues demanding far more urgent attention

    The British state will destroy those areas of industrial activity they find morally objectionable. They will use tax policy to achieve that. Diesel car production is one of them.

    As an aside, I saw Nandy and Campbell sparring with each other yesterday. The issue was obviously Brexit. What we are seeing is a clever conjuring trick. They place two remain supporters in the same studio and present one of them as a Leave supporter (Nandy) who then duly attacks Campbell (Remain). Any Leave supporter not knowing how these things function will be conned into thinking that Nandy supports Brexit. She doesn’t support Brexit. She’s a remain MP of a constituency that is vehemently Leave.

    The Remain bigots, especially Remain MPs in Leave constituencies, will stop at nothing to deceive their core vote

    Cooper’s another Remain bigot in a Leave constituency. These scurrilous Remain MPs in leave constituencies need to be exposed to prevent their re-election at the next GE.

    That they feel the need to indulge in this kind of visual trickery is indicative of just how low they will go to deceive

  10. Len Mears
    May 1, 2019

    Typical Brexiter arrogance. So you, the backbench MP for Wokingham, think you know more about carmaking than our carmakers.

    1. libertarian
      May 1, 2019

      Dear Len Mears

      Oh dear your not really on the ball are you? He isn’t telling them how to make cars, he is rightly pointing out that political interference in markets causes problems. Thats obvious to anyone that can think

    2. Grahame ASH
      May 1, 2019

      NO Len, John does not have to justify the causes of production and sales output to the group board of directors, shareholders etc. Under those circumstances his views are realistic and unprejudiced.
      Any CEO who is trying to defend his management of a company where sales and output are down is going to look for any excuses, however flimsy and Brexit just happens to be one of those straws being clutched. Quite remarkable since we haven’t left the EU and Parliament is doing its utmost not to leave.

    3. ian wragg
      May 1, 2019

      What a stupid and distasteful comment from our latest Brussels troll.
      I would imagine that our host is very much up to speed on the economics of manufacturing. Unlike most of the UK and EU elite, he has proper qualifications, not the degrees in stupidity the likes of May and Cameron have.

    4. NickC
      May 1, 2019

      Len Mears (Grinds?), Typical Remain arrogance! JR’s comment was about economics, marketing, taxation and politics, not about how to make a car.

      Reply Yes, and for several years I led a company that made various pumps for truck engines

    5. David Maples
      May 1, 2019

      Sir John Redwood is the cleverest man in Britain, the one and only distinguished fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. I wish I were as clever, and yes, he does know more than the hopeless and hapless carmakers, especially JLR, the manufacturer of possibly the most unreliable car in production today. I think insulting the member for Wokingham is uncalled for.

    6. L Jones
      May 1, 2019

      Typical remainer – never make a comment unless you can include an insult.
      Disgusting.

  11. Roy Grainger
    May 1, 2019

    Greta Thunberg would be delighted by the collapse of the car industry and so we should be delighted too, eh Andy ?

    1. sm
      May 1, 2019

      I wonder how much Greens take into account, when promoting solar power and electric cars, the conditions and consequences of mining for lithium and cobalt needed for the batteries?

      1. Lifelogic
        May 1, 2019

        Or the output from generating the electricity and loses in this, transmision, voltage conversion, charging and discharging, short battery life….

      2. NickC
        May 1, 2019

        SM, It’s the Green policy to give everyone a full living wage without having to work at all. Apparently we will only choose to work if we want “bright shiny things”. All the rest will be done by automation and robots.

      3. old salt
        May 1, 2019

        SM- and the eventual disposal.

        1. Turboterrier.
          May 1, 2019

          old salt

          What do you mean by the word disposal?

          They have ignored this elephant in the room ever since they started putting wind turbines and solar panels up. It will all fall like a house of cards as more and more aredecommissioned. The last plan being put about was to send the blades to third world countries to dismantle and put in their landfill. Caring lot these greens you know.there are only a few politicians in the present parliament who have any idea if the disposal goes belly up. Will all these dedicated doom and gloom merchants and their mouth piece BBC do a series on it I ask myself.

      4. Fred H
        May 1, 2019

        sm….Biggest lithium source is from Australia, Chile and China(who also import more). Recently it was calculated that 97% of cobalt originated out of Congo or other African locations. Rare earth production is mainly from China, Australia,Russia, Brazil. So much production of techie goods these days rely on the elements.

        1. Mitchel
          May 2, 2019

          North Korea is thought to have sizeable,unexploited deposits too.

      5. Turboterrier.
        May 1, 2019

        SM

        None

    2. Andy
      May 1, 2019

      Not at all. Why do you think I want jobs to go? I want jobs to stay which is why I reject your Brexit.

      I admit, though, to having a lot of sympathy for Greta. Her generation will greatly suffer from man made climate change. Within decades there will be 200 million climate refugees. If you donā€™t like migrants you need to act.

      There is no longer any debate about the science. Man made climate change is here and we have to do all we can to mitigate it. And I believe the UK should aim to be a world leader.

      It is not practical to stop any of us driving or flying – so in those areas we need technological solutions. Fast. Banning new petrol and diesel as soon as possible – certainly by 2025. Huge sums pumped into research to make electric planes possible.

      In the meantime it is about make sure every home is properly insulated. Requiring all new windows to be triple glazed. Solar panels work. Every home should have them. We need to invest much further and faster in wind farms. We need to find an alternative to single use plastics. We need to get everyone to cut down on the amount of meat they eat. We need to plant millions more trees.

      There is nothing more ā€˜conservativeā€™ than loving your planet and wanting to do everything you can to protect it.

      If you lot will not act – and the signs are that you will not – then be prepared to be swept away by the tsunami of change your grandchildrenā€™s generation will impose on you. You can be a part of the problem or part of the solution. You pick.

  12. steadyeddie
    May 1, 2019

    Scaremongering- decline in sales is multi faceted and our EU membership is part of the reason for Toyota, Honda, Tata et al investing hugely in the UK over the past 40 years. One more reason why we should stay in.

  13. Alan Jutson
    May 1, 2019

    This is what happens when and idiot throws a couple of big spanners in the works, when all that is needed is the occasional light touch with a very small screwdriver.

    The Car manufacturing business is a very well run, highly automated, competitive system, where research and development is an absolutely integral part of the process of moving forward, most improvements happen through an evolved process with regular and timely minor improvements constantly being sought, tried and tested before introduction.
    Very rarely is their a big major change to the way things are done, and when it does happen like the introduction of a new engine, new suspension, or a new floorpan it takes years of planning, and a huge investment of time and finance to re-tool and re equip production lines, all the time assuming of course customers will like what has been produced.

    Even a minor change in legislation or selling price can affect demand, and upset the very fine balance of customer interest and that of supply and demand.

    Given that heavy handed Government interference with both taxes, emissions, and the drive to subsidise electric cars, which are not yet fully developed to anywhere near their full potential (battery Life and charging points) is it any wonder we now have a problem !

    1. Alan Jutson
      May 1, 2019

      I wonder how many of the cabinet, or indeed politicians in Westminster or Brussels have actually visited a car plant for a whole day, and really understood the process rather than just using it as prop for a photo opportunity.

      Career politicians with no experience in commerce or industry are the problem, not the solution.

    2. Lifelogic
      May 1, 2019

      Indeed government is as usual the problem. Electric car are expensive and save little or no CO2 (they just shift the output to the power station and manufacturing CO2). Given the uncertainly caused by government best just to run your old car until some the new technology works, charges more quickly has better range and is cost competitive.

      1. Fred H
        May 2, 2019

        Lifelogic….got it in just 2 sentences. You can see, I can see it – Government cannot.

  14. javelin
    May 1, 2019

    Every single comment in every newspaper and online social media is saying the Conservatives will/need/must be wiped out to save democracy in this country. What a disaster.

    1. Lifelogic
      May 1, 2019

      A great shame for many sound Conservative councillors who will be evicted through no fault of their own. In the EU elections it is hard to see why anyone would vote Conservative at all until May and Hammond are despatched in total ignominy.

      1. acorn
        May 1, 2019

        What about Northamptonshire county elections! The Conservative Party poster child for low tax small local government that, in private sector terms, has gone bust three times since the last set of elections.

        The Tories will have been wiped out in this week’s local elections; so, to save the embarrassment, Secretary Brokenshire has cancelled the election, saying he will reorganise the county into two unitary councils … somewhen.

        Did you know that the Downing Street executive government could cancel democracy with the stroke of a pen? Imagine what Nigel Farage could do if you gave him that sort of power! El Presidente Nigel, South American style.

    2. Bob
      May 1, 2019

      “What a disaster.”

      Think of it more like a renewal, they’ve become arrogant and stale. UKIP will restore personal liberty and dispense with this stifling political correctness. The BBC and the HoL will be reformed.

      1. Fred H
        May 1, 2019

        Bob …., Sadly I don’t expect the H of C nor the H of L to be reformed. I would like to see bigger constituency areas, allowing a reduction in MPs to say 300, the H of L abandoned in favour of say 50 elected respected businesmen, ex-MPs, qualified scientists, authors etc. Merely to examine the Bills for faults, party political bias, and extreme lack of wisdom in proposal. Electors to serve no longer than 10 years.

  15. Dave Andrews
    May 1, 2019

    Car manufacturing down? Good!
    Too many cars on the road, too much traffic and too many queues.
    Many commuters going past our house don’t need an electric vehicle, they need a bicycle, for the sake of their pockets, waistline and the planet.

    1. Lifelogic
      May 1, 2019

      Abolish stamps duty at up to 15% so people can move closer to where they work.

    2. Lifelogic
      May 1, 2019

      I do quite like electric bikes though. Like being 18 again even up the hills.

      1. Lifelogic
        May 1, 2019

        Except in the lawless UK they get stolen far too quickly.

    3. Fred H
      May 1, 2019

      Dave, What about the mums driving the dear ones to Primary ( and even secondary) school in new or nearly new SUVs? They might do shopping in it, but most I suspect are company cars, partner’s or theirs available via inducements in compensation packages. Another reason cars have more and more ‘toys’ ie silly features fitted. And going back to the suspicious advice given to Brown back in the days of tax advantage to diesels, we now have more honesty in the mpg and pollution involved. So, city centre penalties and stop/start technology are born. Inducements meant Japanese car production here, which the EU have now delivered a death sentence on, with a strange free grade deal.

      1. Fred H
        May 1, 2019

        finger trouble …s/ be trade deal.

  16. margaret
    May 1, 2019

    Why don’t they talk about tax hikes etc.. simply because they have pixcel minds, are focused on one thing ( probably been to uni where they have to ignore anything of other variables except the blind argument)or simple ignorance.

    It has always struck me as a way of exclusion , particularly i n surveys etc whether we agree with one thing or another and in actual fact we don’t agree with either of those things yet are required to give an answer. For example is your answer A or B ,, to be true to one self , my answer is A and a half plus B and a half and a great deal of C.

  17. Newmania
    May 1, 2019

    The new UK automotive industry is here primarily for EU access .80% of UK-imported automotive components came from the EU27 last year( 16% of the export value of EU27 car parts ). Only 18.5% of passenger car production in the UK was bought here (85% of UK car imports are from the EU)The threat of Brexit to supply chains markets adds to an existing over capacity. Investment in the UK car industry fell by 50% in 2018.
    Against this backdrop of threats to families and communities the sight of MPs only concerned to evade responsibility is ā€¦deeply depressing and that is only one sector

    1. Ginty
      May 1, 2019

      Fine.

      But the Japanese are telling us, in effect, that we must have a supranational court and a supranational government which have supremacy over our own.

    2. NickC
      May 1, 2019

      Newmania, The solution is not to buy so many cars from the EU. Is that what you want?

      1. Fred H
        May 1, 2019

        NickC….I never cease to be amazed how much our car buying electorate spend on (especially German) new EU imported cars. It seems the people never tire of the latest plate, the latest rather pointless toys ( features) etc. All that money, often finance dealed, for what? Ego, boasting, keeping up with the Jones’ ? Continually buying new, every year, 2 or 3 makes no sense to me.

        1. margaret howard
          May 1, 2019

          Fred H

          No, the public buy German cars because they are the best, not just indesign but engineering.

          The only British car I ever owned was a Sunbeam Alpine. I have never been in charge of a super tanker but I don’t suppose it was more difficult to steer than that car. And the brakes were rubbish. I only avoided an accident because I got rid of it as soon as possible.

          1. Fred H
            May 2, 2019

            margaret….oh dear I fear time warp. Sunbeam Alpine I remember well, one version ceased production 50 years ago, and the other 44 years ago. Perhaps things have moved on a little since. While agreeing some German cars are indeed quality vehicles it remains that it could be argued over-engineered for the actual purpose.

      2. Newmania
        May 1, 2019

        No it will mean buying the same ones for more money , the only good thing I hope for is that we will go back to the 70s when ministers were obliged to buy British cars to show solidarity

        Oh what fun it was to see them in ugly rusting overpriced clown cars -I`ll enjoy that at least , ( An Allegro for Redders would be lovely )

        1. Edward2
          May 1, 2019

          Silly post.
          UK made cars are great.
          World class.

          1. margaret howard
            May 2, 2019

            Which ones?

          2. Edward2
            May 2, 2019

            Jaguar
            Land Rover
            Range Rover
            Nissan
            Morgan
            Bentley
            Rolls Royce
            McLaren
            Aston Martin
            Mini

            There’s a few for you.

          3. Edward2
            May 2, 2019

            Oh and not forgetting Toyota in Derbyshire

  18. Mike Stallard
    May 1, 2019

    I live on an estate in a small country town. It is known for its poverty relative to the rest of the UK.
    Everyone – man woman and their grown up children, has a car. People on the dole have a car. Most of the cars are about 10 years old now and they run perfectly. Indeed our little road is so full of cars that the milkman cannot turn round easily!
    People are not spending on new cars. We already have quite enough.

    1. Alan Jutson
      May 1, 2019

      Mike

      Agree with what you say, but the great Mayor of London thinks that cars over 3 years old need to be penalised by up to Ā£25 per day for just being in London and its outskirts.
      The new congestion and emissions charge, is a daily charge, even for those who live in London and travel around their local area.

      Thus older cars will be forced off of Londons roads, and other Cities plan to do the same.

      1. Edward2
        May 1, 2019

        It is just another tax. A method of raising revenue.
        If they were really keen to reduce pollution in London they would have banned non compliant vehicles.
        But there is no cash in that approach.
        So if you can pay, then come in and pollute.

    2. graham1946
      May 1, 2019

      I think you are right, Mike. It surely is market saturation. I seem to remember that a year or two ago record car sales were being reported, especially in the Contract Hire sphere, where contracts are typically 3 or 4 years. Once sold, those cars will not be replaced for the period, so there may be another boom when those contracts are renewed, which the ‘owners’ will be compelled to do to keep the treadmill running,otherwise they have to pay huge chunks of money to settle the account, which in effect means paying a large amount for a second hand car. Good second hand cars are now available and the public were conned with the Ā£199 per month type offers for a new car which actually never ends. Similar happened with the mobile phone market – boom, then everyone had one and only the showoffs wanted to continually pay Ā£1000 or more for a phone that does all sorts but doesn’t actually make calls very well.

  19. Kenneth Morton
    May 1, 2019

    I was in Luton yesterday, a town that is very gradually being modernised by technological innovation and investment.

    A very large Marks and Spencer shop that has always been popular and busy is closing this weekend. Employees who drive have all been offered jobs, the result of the companyā€™s partnership with Ocado to meet the demand for on-line shopping.

    Just up the road the Vauxhall plant is looking to hire new people. This is the home of the Vauxhall Vivaro van, the twenty first centuryā€™s successor to the old Ford Transit. The Vivaro can be produced with a wide variety of options in size, engine capacity and seating. It is a petrol powered vehicle but an electric version will be produced from next year onwards.

    Even ten years ago nobody visiting Luton would believe that the Marks and Spencer store would close nor thar the outdated Vauxhall plant would do anything but close.

    The commercial world is changing so rapidly and the government, when it emerges from the Brexit confusion, should give priority to an industrial policy appropriate to the new opportunities that British economy and world trade will provide

    1. Everhopeful
      May 1, 2019

      Kenneth Morton
      They never dreamed that the straw plait and hat industry would ever come to an end either!
      Plus Ƨa change etc!!

    2. NickC
      May 1, 2019

      Kenneth Morton, Vauxhall (ex GM, now owned by PSA) jointly produces the Vivaro with Renault, Nissan and Fiat versions. Joint platform development is now very common to economise on the burden of legislative costs.

      The UK largely lost its home grown industry because of the industrial turmoil in the 1970s (when we were in the EEC/EU) and Labour nationalisation. Foreign owners – then GM and Ford – transferred design and development to Germany. French ownership resulted in UK closures.

      Free of the EU, the UK will have its own trade policy which can be used to re-gain manufacturing and design within the UK. All we have to do is buy fewer EU cars. It’s our choice.

  20. David in Kent
    May 1, 2019

    Don’t you think the government might also be criticised for failing to warn UK motor manufacturers 2-3 years ago that it was thinking of switching its support from Diesels to electric.

    1. Fred H
      May 1, 2019

      do you think they were in the dark?

  21. Christine
    May 1, 2019

    What a mess successive Governments have made of our country over the last 50 years. They should hang their heads in shame. Let’s hope things are about to change. The hard working British people deserve so much better.

    1. Lifelogic
      May 1, 2019

      Let us hope that change is towards lower taxes, smaller government, real Conservatism and real Brexit let democracy. Rather than towards Venezuela Corbyn.

      1. Mitchel
        May 1, 2019

        If “Venezuela Corbyn” were to come about and you were hoping the US neo-cons would come to the rescue with a coup,I’d say abandon it now-really,desperate,desperate end of imperium stuff from the dinosaurs Trump has surrounded himself with(been forced to surround himself with?).

        I laughed my socks off this morning when Pompeo,with a total lack of conviction(let alone credibility), said Maduro was all ready to flee but the Russians yanked him off the plane.

    2. Sharon Jagger
      May 1, 2019

      Christine

      I think most of the mess has been created because of the slow inexorable integration to the EU. None of the decisions made were made with the interests of the U.K. in mind. EU grants have lured our business to Europe, rules and regulations have been made to suit the EU. All decisions made, in my opinion, by civil servants having some ā€˜good ideasā€™ in an office somewhere….in the EU most likely!

      And our politicians just nodded it all through. Few questioned anything – and with that mentality is why we are struggling with Brexit.

    3. Everhopeful
      May 1, 2019

      They should. They most definitely should.
      But we keep using their gift of ā€œ democracyā€ to give them power.
      I always think of the words of that Joni Mitchell song.
      ā€œTake Paradise…put up a parking lotā€.

      1. What Tiler
        May 1, 2019

        “paved paradise”
        Just sayin’

        1. Everhopeful
          May 1, 2019

          What Tiler
          Lol! Thanks.
          Always got it wrong!
          Still…you get the sense.

    4. Fred H
      May 1, 2019

      I think much is down to benefit of hindsight. However, with more recent governments you have a very good point.

    5. Steve
      May 1, 2019

      Christine

      “What a mess successive Governments have made of our country over the last 50 years. They should hang their heads in shame.”

      Actually I hope someone does something to them, as a deterrent.

  22. Bryan Harris
    May 1, 2019

    Another symptom of poor economic management by this government stuck in it’s dogmatic ways. I get the impression they are deliberately suppressing a feel good factor for any aspect of life in the UK, especially financially.
    Tories make lousy socialists as they are torn between two worlds, but this government is showing once again that it cannot get anything right.

  23. formula57
    May 1, 2019

    The SMMT has a long history of tiresome whinging and surely no one serious takes notice of it. It is on a par with the CBI. Brexit has served to give both renewed wind.

  24. Julie Williams
    May 1, 2019

    Car manufacturing is in a malaise all over Europe including Germany and factories are closing in Spain as well as the UK as Japanese firms are consolidating their output back to Japan; at least they are protecting their own jobs as best they can, unlike in the UK where jobs have been shipped out to other EU countries using our money (potentially) as other posters have pointed out,requiring the UK government to spend even more of our money to bribe them to stay.How’s that for a twisted business model?
    Then there’s a question of consumer choice; I recently replaced my old car with a “city” car (no need for anything bigger) and would have loved to had bought British. What choice did I have?
    Exactly none; I discount the ludicrously expensive cartoon of the “mini” which BMW produce in the UK (just about?) which unfortunately is much larger than the original.
    As for electric cars being the future?
    Apparently VW have produced research showing that electric cars break even ecologically when compared to diesel cars only after a very high mileage far exceeding that which the average motorist will acheive….that’s if you trust anything that VW has to say.

  25. formula57
    May 1, 2019

    In the USA some see the motor industry threatened by younger consumers rejecting purchasing their own transport (owing to Uber etc. and lifestyle changes wrought by technological advances) and go so far as to suggest the industry in its present form is sustained (pro tem) only by baby boomers.

    J.D. Power reports (per the Wall Street Journal, 20 April last) that Generation Z (those born after c. 1997), the current new generation of drivers, will purchase 120,000 fewer vehicles (some 480,000) than did Millennials when they were the new drivers back in 2004.

    So the SMMT may have more acute worries than the damage done by governments.

  26. Edward2
    May 1, 2019

    With the UK on a “war footing” with this “climate emergency” thing I’m surprised how well vehicle sales are holding up.
    There is current assault on car ownership with congestion charges, low emission zones, cameras watching box junctions and bus lanes, 20mph zones springing up, huge increases in parking charges, huge rises in car taxes and these low emission zones proposed in cities and towns other than London, are yet to tell us what their actual rules are.
    I have a diesel car which has dropped considerably in value due to the sudden reversal in policy towards diesel vehicles by government, which makes trading it in for a compliant vehicle more expensive.
    If I could work out what actually is a vehicle the government thinks is compliant.

    1. Fred H
      May 1, 2019

      Edward….Bikes, buses, trams, trains in that order.

      1. Edward2
        May 1, 2019

        Bikes….dangerous on modern roads.
        We need far more dedicated bike lanes.
        Buses not very good, take ages to get from A to B, and security worries especially at night.
        Trams OK for short distances inside cities.
        Trains…love trains, good for inter city travel but expensive and often crowded.
        Flying is cheaper than first class train travel.
        Coaches…not bad.
        Cars…the best form of travel

  27. Tim the Coder
    May 1, 2019

    It is Conservative Government policy, supported by Labour, to ban the sale of fossil-fuel powered cars within 10 years.
    So car companies are closing, or running down factories that make these soon-to-be-banned cars. Sensible management.

    So all these lost jobs are a policy success aren’t they! Why aren’t you celebrating that this Government policy is working?

    Or was the policy just a bit of virtue-signalling nonsense that you hoped no one would take seriously?

    Electric vehicles will NOT replace the current cars for a host of physical and chemical reasons that even the hot air from Westminster cannot revoke. And even the hopeless ones available will have no electricity to charge them.

    But meantime, celebrate your success. It is what the policy intended – isn’t it?

  28. A.Sedgwick
    May 1, 2019

    Whilst your comments are valid the bigger picture is the car industry has been indifferent to reality and likely future trends.

    Over large, over powerful, over complicated vehicles;

    Over populated roads – people are fed up with traffic jams, parking and minor bumps;

    Less young people have driving licences;

    Older people will increasingly give up driving for taxis and home deliveries; e.g. getting to my local hospital is tiresome, a local firm does each way for Ā£5, it can cost that in parking.

    The opportunity cost of keeping a car on the road is becoming prohibitive for many.

  29. Lifelogic
    May 1, 2019

    Philip Johnson is surely right today in the Telegraph.

    The Conservatives must wake up to the calamity about to engulf them. Is this the strange death of Tory England? The party is in a far worse position than before its 1997 obliteration

  30. Everhopeful
    May 1, 2019

    Maybe ask what happened to our coal industry?
    It was beneficial to some to go over to oil…and they stopped at nothing re propaganda to make certain that lives and societies and coal mines were destroyed.
    (In the process mines were allowed to decline dangerously considering that men had to go down into them).
    The car thing must be about the money to be made from electric cars?
    Gas now under threat.
    Where are they going to get all the electricity from???? WINDMILLS?? We will freeze.

  31. ukretired123
    May 1, 2019

    Hammond’s only real world business experience was running an old people’s home where the end product cannot complain much and is not very dynamic unlike the real commercial world.
    That’s a world away from Carlos Goshon’s turning Nissan around and look what’s happened to him.
    Declare Mayday!

  32. BillM
    May 1, 2019

    It appears that any Industry-representing Body uses the Brexit ploy as a standard get-out-of-jail Free card when faced with a down-turn in their fortunes. Like too many politicos these days, they are too concerned with saving face lest they be accused of failing in their duties.
    It is so pathetic when simple research of the data on a Global scale will reveal the true basis of the problem. But why bother with the facts when it is so much easier to play that ubiquitous card.
    LOL Ironically, so ubiquitous that it no longer has the desired effect! The phony Brexit excuse has been well and truly demolished. Stick to the facts in future and gain more respect.

  33. Paul Cohen
    May 1, 2019

    Yet another insightful, intelligent and totally convincing post by JR – Why these are not taken up and promoted to a wider audience baffles me.

    Reply Both the motor industry reps and the government want to make it an issue about Brexit, not about government and motor industry policies.

  34. The Quiet Man
    May 1, 2019

    Reported widely today that the traitor May has done a deal with Corbyn to keep the UK as a permanent slave colony to the EU. Sorry to say John the people will never forgive the Tories for their treachery. Boris going around begging people not to abandon the Tories because Corbyn will gain while May is doing deals with him.

    1. Fred H
      May 1, 2019

      Boris sees his chance of being PM disappearing as Corbyn’s chances increase.

    2. Lifelogic
      May 1, 2019

      Indeed. May is very clearly a complete and totally dishonest traitor to the UK’s interest. Even she can surely not be so thick as not to see this can she?

    3. graham1946
      May 1, 2019

      Corbyn has been clever, dragging out ‘negotiations’ on the EU, whether or not the Tories end up caving in to his demands (I think they will). He is getting the public via the MSM to be used to seeing Labour people coming and going from Government buildings and giving the impression that they are doing some governmental work. When the inevitable GE comes, it won’t seem so strange that Marxixsts are at the centre of Government.

    4. Sir Joe Soap
      May 1, 2019

      Cornwall poll 1000 people

      Brexit Party 51%
      Tories 1% (yes one per cent)!

      Nearly there! Wipe them out altogether!

    5. Richard416
      May 1, 2019

      With his upbringing and education it would be hard to believe that even Mr Corbyn would be taken in by such a confidence trick.

    6. Steve
      May 1, 2019

      Quiet Man

      “Reported widely today that the traitor May has done a deal with Corbyn”

      …..she has no authority, mandate or right to do so. Since she is PM because people voted conservative, what she is doing amounts to fraudulent activity.

    7. Chris
      May 1, 2019

      Boris is off the radar now, and it is entirely his own fault, I believe. He has supported May who has betrayed the UK, its people and Brexit. Her own MPs seem in a state of inertia, completely bowled over by the duplicity, breathtaking arrogance, and simple steamrollering that has gone on. That is how communism gains hold when good men do nothing. Actually where are those good men? We seem to be left with mainly spineless unprincipled cowards.

  35. Stred
    May 1, 2019

    The policymakers are implementing a UN/EU agenda before they have remotely prepared the infrastructure or allowed time to develop the batteries, reduce costs and secure supplies of lithium,cobalt and rare earths. Most UK housing is without a private car space for charhing snd about 20 big nuclear power stations would be needed for electrical transport and domestic heating. But the goons in the BEIS are planning to have us charge our cars using wind farms overnight and then, in a cold spell with no wind, we use the batteries to feed back to the grid. Strange but true. Its in the book by the late Prof MacKay.

    They had to demonize diesels because they can produce no more CO2 than an electric car on a grid using gas and coal in Germany. Modern diesels can run without producing NO2 by using Adblue in towns. The claimed figures for deaths are concocted by multiplying small estimated reduced lifespan by the whole population. After the ban and destruction of the engine industry, the lengthening of lifespans will not even be measurable.
    Corrected

  36. margaret
    May 1, 2019

    Well it is the original May Day today . I don’t feel like dancing around the May pole !

  37. agricola
    May 1, 2019

    Why do you ask us in the real world to comment on the problems of the car industry when those problems are to a large extent created on the benches next to you.

    I now note that your government are proposing that we insure against the possible costs of old age. I suppose that this means yet another tax on all those in work and in fact working for the proflegacy of government for around half their working year. Of course all those living on food banks, not working, and generally contributing little in the way of tax will have to continue getting age care for free.

    Meanwhile government continues to spend Ā£50 to Ā£100 billion on Hs2, Ā£13billion on overseas aid, and god knows how much on our relationship with and divorce from the EU. Electorally how long do you think this level of generosity with tax payers money can continue.

    Not only have you destroyed the faith of the electorate over Brexit, but in the one area where you boasted competence, finance, you are closer to the insane policies of the oppostion than you would care to admit. You could not make it up.

  38. ian
    May 1, 2019

    They haven’t a clue what they are doing, their only aim is to take as many people off the roads as they can by making it unaffordable, I only ask you this, where are all jobs and taxes going to come from in future.

    I lived near Marble Arch in London in the 50s to the 70s at a time when you had lead in the petrol and pure fumes from engines with pea-soupers in the winter from coal fries, I am still around, so is the Queen and so are many politicians who live in london all their life’s and are now going into there eighties and nineties.

    Car manufacturing will fall well below 1 million cars, taxes from the car fuels and car repairs and even road tax with insurance will crater, jobs will also crater from garages selling fuels to car repairs shops, no need for tyres or new parts for repairs, most of the manufacturers who make these things will disappear for good, thousands upon thousands will be out of work, but this plays into their idea of hitting their targets of being number one in the world with zero emissions, no matter what the cost is.

    1. Fred H
      May 2, 2019

      Ian….there’s a nice dystopian story in just 1 para. Well done.

  39. Mike Wilson
    May 1, 2019

    This obsession with endless car production and consumption is very worrying. We all need to make our cars last 15 to 20 years so that, when we replace them, we will be buying cars that do not burn oil to make them go forwards.

    And, yes, the electrical energy needs to come from renewable sources.

    Enough of this green crap crap. End burning the black crap.

    1. Edward2
      May 2, 2019

      We were encouraged by the EU (and UK) to switch from petrol to diesel vehicles.
      This was due to diesel having lower CO2 and the worry of climate change.
      They ignored the obvious problem of diesel being a less clean fuel.
      So now it is a 180 degree sudden change in policy.

      To give cars a bit of context, over 90% of CO2 on the planet is naturally created.
      The rest is created by human activities.
      Of that 10% the UK creates less than one percent.
      Of that UK vehicles in total create about 10% of that one percent.
      Cars are about 20% of that total for vehicles.
      And if the UK did reduce to zero its CO2 the savings made would be made up just by China’s increases in about one year.

  40. mancunius
    May 1, 2019

    “The industry could not even work with the government it seems so close to to be able to arrange the closedown at the right time for Brexit”

    Or possibly, the industry had not realized that May had been continually lying through her teeth about leaving the EU on 29th March?

  41. Fed up with the bull
    May 1, 2019

    I’ve just been reading yesterdays posts. Can Margaret Howard tell me what she would do if Remain had won the vote but the government said we were leaving? I’ve got a feeling you would be a bit peed off. You keep going on about the 48% that voted to remain but fail to acknowledge 52% that voted to leave. Can you explain your reasoning please because I just can’t see why you keep going on like a broken record? Perhaps you would also like to explain why it is only remainers that keep going on about a 2nd referendum.

    1. margaret howard
      May 1, 2019

      I might have said what Farage did:

      “In a 52-48 referendum this would be unfinished business by a long way. If the remain campaign win two-thirds to one-third that ends it.”

      1. Edward2
        May 2, 2019

        If you actually read the whole interview with Farage in the Mirror newspaper, it took place at a time when polls showed a lead for the Remain side and it is quite a bit out of context.

        The Leave campaign and Farage in this interview were complaining about the Ā£9 million leaflet and the concerted project fear campaign being run by the establishment and how unfair the spending was.
        He thought at the time of that interview that leave would lose.

        He went on to say that if Leave supporters felt they had lost narrowly due to this campaign unfairness then there would be a groundswell of desire to fight on to leave the EU.
        A few weeks later the polls changed and Leave won.

      2. Fred H
        May 2, 2019

        margaret .. If the remain campaign was to win two-thirds to one-third (in another REF) that ends my belief that the electorate knows what it is doing.

  42. Chris
    May 1, 2019

    Good governance could prevent the collapse of the UK car industry and tomorrow is our first chance to express what so many of us want but which May is denying us wrongfully i.e. to get a competent leader who will uphold democracy and effect Brexit.

    The votenone.org website advises on how to make votes count, including None, written across the paper, making it quite clear that the voter’s intention is that he/she rejects all of the choices. Do not write anything else that might confuse.

    Do not stay at home but make your vote count. This makes it clear that for the voter there is not a Party that represents them. If there are enough spoiled votes (where the intention of the voter is absolutely clear) then they will be recorded and this could be significant. If enough people do it it will demonstrate that our political system is not working properly and something needs to be done to address the inadequacies. It will also give current Parties an accurate idea of just how out of touch they are with the electorate.

  43. John Wood
    May 1, 2019

    Some sobering thoughts on electric cars.

    The charging rate for an electric car is 7Kw (could be 20Kw)

    There are 30 million cars in the UK. If they all charged at the same time (overnight) then the electricity griud would have to supply 210 Gw of power – just for the cars.

    The UK electricity grid has a maximum supply capacity of 80Gw,

    Go figure.

    1. KZB
      May 2, 2019

      I recall calculating some time back that it would take offshore wind farm the size of (pre-1973) Yorkshire. That is just to provide the energy for the cars alone, i.e not including goods vehicles or buses and coaches. Coupled to that you need massive energy storage capacity to cope with peaks and troughs in demand. I’m not saying it is impossible, just that the size of the task is very significant and we’re seeing little sign of any progress towards achieving it.

    2. Fred H
      May 2, 2019

      John…. very simple. We would not all wish to recharge every day, every night, and certainly not all at the same time. Unless suddenly all 30m cars are covering the near max battery mileage available. If that is to happen (god help us) we will require rather better local roads and massive improvements (and additions) to the motorways. Ah…..just a thought, HS2 and Crossrail are going to solve all that, so we will cover much lower mileage than at present?

      1. John Wood
        May 3, 2019

        When WOULD you charge your car then – if not overnight. With such limited range you will have to charge it up quite often. (Urban driving is just as bad for electic cars as it is for petrol ones – the ranges quoted are basically those where you travel at a constant speed).

        And remember that there will still be pollution in the supply chain. The fact that the car itself is not polluting (other than cost of extracting rare-earths) merely means that the energy production is now a long way away – We lose up to 10% of the energy produced from power station to charging socket.

        An average home uses about 9Kw – having an electric car will double that.

  44. Fred H
    May 1, 2019

    NEW off-topic subject.
    Gavin Williamson sacked for leaking huawei decision. Following a Daily Telegraph report on warnings within cabinet about possible risks to national security over a deal with Huawei, leaks brought into question the UK ability to keep a lid on security matters.

    1. sm
      May 1, 2019

      Do you remember how everyone laughed at the constant turnover of personnel within President Trump’s administration, Fred? It really isn’t funny when it’s happening on this scale on this side of the Atlantic.

      1. Chris
        May 1, 2019

        President Trump appoints the best person for the job at the time, and certainly in the investigation and impending prosecution of the deep state players who tried to bring down President Trump, people with different qualities were required at different stages of the investigation.

        Furthermore noone has a job for life with P Trump, and rightly so. They have to measure up and produce results, and if not they go.

  45. Mark B
    May 1, 2019

    Notice it is faux Eurosceptic, Alexander Johnson MP doing the rounds and not anyone from cabinet. He clearly knows his worth and so does the likes of The Party leadership.

  46. Ken Moore
    May 1, 2019

    Regrettably, Dr Redwood was not present at today’s debate on climate change. He could have added a dose of common sense. Climate science can never be ‘settled’ it is too complex…I suspect that if an mp got up and questioned the ‘consensus’ of the sainted ‘scientists’ they would probably be lynched in the dumbed down febrile atmosphere of the chamber.

    I have to say I have never witnessed before such an unthinking, back slapping, virtue signalling, intellectually bankrupt and babyish debate in that house. What small closed minds our elected representatives have. Do they not realise that India and China couldn’t care less about their posturing and will continue to develop at an exponential rate ?.

    The amount of money that individuals are left with after buying essential items is already diminishing…what good will it do to impoverish ourselves further ?

    Not a single mp pointed out that the exploitation of fossil fuels had made the transition from subsistence agriculture to our modern ways possible. They freed us from the drudgery and misery and made possible huge advances in health and lifespan/

    Renewables are merely derivatives of fossil fuels. Do these fools not realise how many tons of earth need to be moved by diesel powered excavators and how much energy is needed to extract the elements needed to construct their wind farms that only work when the wind blows ?

    These same virtue signalling parrots have nothing to say about the impact on the environment of the increase from mid 50’s to a population of 65 million plus….
    We are running faster just to stand still.

    reply I was there to listen to the opening speeches.

    1. Mike Wilson
      May 1, 2019

      What if the climate scientists are right? Ever even considered the possibility? Iā€™d be interested to meet some of you so certain deniers if the scientists are right and the riots have begun. You wonā€™t be burning oil then.

      1. Edward2
        May 1, 2019

        Look at their previous predictions in every decade since the 1960s
        Wrong every time.
        They remain the high priests of doom who cannot be denied.
        They just keep moving their failed predictions forward without any embarrassment.
        And we are spending many billions on your “just in case” scenario every year.

    2. Ken Moore
      May 3, 2019

      reply I was there to listen to the opening speeches.

      I regret you did not stand and speak and add some balance to the debate and speak for thousands of people like me. You could have added a dose of sanity into the debate. Somebody needs to have the balls to articulate unfashionable but honest truths..

      How exactly are your colleagues going to get the public to accept the much dearer energy that would be needed to achieve ‘zero net carbon emissions’ by 2050 ?. Banning gas boilers in new homes by 2030 ?. Knee jery reactionary clap trap.
      Presumably the Germans or Americans would still enjoy cheap energy while the poor British would be impoverished to save the world. Good luck selling that policy

      Why doesn’t parliament tackle something it can influence (population increase) instead of chasing impossible pipe dreams

  47. BR
    May 1, 2019

    Many folk are simply deferring car replacement to see how this pans out.

    I like the economy of diesels, the performance of petrol (but not their economy) and… nothing at all about electrics.

    The confluence of 3 technologies could change everything. 1. Electric cars along with battery technology 2. Driverless cars and 3. Uber-style business models.

    In future, we may simply order up a ‘pod’ via an app and have it arrive and take us to our destination, No need for ownership, having a vehicle that needs to be garaged, serviced, taxed and is prone to theft and damage – that’s all the service company’s.

    At that point we will be operating a Transport as a Service (TaaS) model. Manufacturing of ‘cars’ will be done for the service companies – and the whole current business model for the manufacturers will be gone.

    Then… will we care if BMW manufacture their pods here or in Germany? Will we care if it’s a sexy-looking pod? Or will we just one that’s the right size that gets us safely from A to B, on time and without mishap.

    MPs agonising over the future of the car industry are effectively agonising over the future of the horse-drawn carriage in 1930 – as useful as contemplating their navels. Look to the future and realise that car manufacturers are dead in the short to medium term – then you can ignore them from an economic standpoint.

    However, there are opportunities for new British companies in the future, although it seems likely that most of the software will be created by the likes of Google, making the hardware is anyone’s game.

  48. ian
    May 1, 2019

    By election coming up for the Brexit party could be their first MP in parliament this year.

  49. agricola
    May 1, 2019

    So it would appear that Gavin Williams was the leaker of a cabinet discussion on G5. If he was then he has paid an appropriate price. In mitigation he highlighted the PMs contempt for our security, and that of our allies who had already rejected Chinese infiltration. I believe she also acted against the advice of our own security services. She may have thought she was helping our trade relations with China but in reality she was marking us out as an iffy partner and security risk. Yet another reason for you to get rid of her.

    1. Chris
      May 1, 2019

      I am not convinced that Williamson was the leaker, and am concerned by the role of Sedwill and the manner in which the investigation was carried out. There is something about this whole operation that does not ring true. What really concerns me is that May is apparently going to allow Huawei into the 5G operation. Hugely worrying, and sheer madness on her part, in my view.

    2. javelin
      May 2, 2019

      It appears Williamson was sacked by a kangaroo court or some evidence would have been shown or even mentioned.

      Theresa May now reminds me of that King in Lord of the Rings holed up in his castle under a black wizards spell whilst his people come under attack from the wizards army. The scene where he bites into a large grape whilst his best soldiers battle charge, under his orders, to certain death, keeps coming into my head.

  50. ChrisS
    May 1, 2019

    I’ve been looking to replace my nine year old Audi A5 for the last year. It has been the best and most reliable car I have owned.

    I tried many cars, including Jaguar’s brilliant but flawed electric iPace, but I found that the range was a pathetic 190 miles in real world motoring. It’s not even built in Britain, it’s built in Austria.

    Instead, I have just bought a new Audi A7 built to a very high spec and which has a range of 575 miles and can be “recharged” at any service station in just three minutes. My car was preregistered by Audi in June last year and I obtained it at a discount of 41.8% of the list price. It had only 30 miles on the clock.

    I paid HALF the price of the very best deal I could get on the electric Jaguar and it meets all the latest emission regs so I can take it anywhere.

    The switch to electric cars is not going to happen while the prices remain so high. My deal was probably only possible because the damage Hammond has done to the car industry in the UK has forced manufacturers to do extremely keen deals on petrol and diesel models.

  51. Richard Pinder
    May 2, 2019

    Donā€™t blame the scientists, we are being censored by the media, and misrepresented by environmental activists, politicians and the United Nations. Astronomers knew that the key to whether Carbon Dioxide causes Global Warming or not, would be found if a formula worked for the Greenhouse effect on both Venus and Mars. The ā€œUnified Theory of Climateā€ provides that formula which works for both Venus and Mars, proving that the atmospheric mass/gravity/pressure Greenhouse effect of James Clark Maxwell, found in 1888, is correct. Gravity pulling molecules downward producing the heat gradient. Therefore the climate sensitivity of CO2 is proven to be zero. The Unified Theory of Climate solves the problem of explaining the temperatures in all parts of the atmospheres of all the planets in the Solar System, including the Earth and the carbon dioxide atmospheres of Venus and Mars. The only adjustments to air pressure for the results are with the level of Solar radiation, albedo and geothermal heat, proving that carbon dioxide warming is ā€œFALSEā€ or as Donald Trump says ā€œA HOAXā€. The scientists concerned where invited to Britain to attend the ā€œ2016 London Climate Change Conferenceā€œ which was barred from being held on ā€œUniversity College Londonā€ property by environmental activists and administrators. A University which was later found to have had the greatest deterioration in academic quality in the developed world, for any University. Debate about the above science seems to be very limited in Britain. Its been mentioned by Piers Corbyn and the Mensa forum, but the problem with Britain is that the Tories donā€™t have any Parliamentarians with a science PhD, while Trump has family and Republican politicians who do.

    1. hefner
      May 2, 2019

      In this theory, I understand that the climate sensitivity of any gas present in a planetary atmosphere (whatever the planet) is zero (as no gas has a so-called radiative effect). Is it correct to say that the only reasons to get a 3-dimensional temperature field on a planet are therefore uniquely the limit conditions (i.e. the distribution of solar energy at the top of its atmosphere and the 2-dimensional distribution of its surface albedo (and surface temperature?)) and the piling-up of all molecules creating the pressure field? Does this theory therefore assume that the level of energy of any molecule always remain the same or that, even if it changes with temperature, this does not have any further impact (in particular no emission or absorption of radiation, and this whatever the wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum)? In the case of the Earth, how does this theory explain the temperature profiles decreasing from surface to tropopause then increasing to stratopause then decreasing again towards the mesopause?
      Interesting.

      1. Richard Pinder
        May 4, 2019

        It means that for every planet, the top of the atmosphere is heated by solar energy, then cools down towards an Atmospheric pressure of about 100 millibars, the heat then increases as the pressure increases. The level of energy of any molecule increases due to gravity pulling molecules downwards. Slowing down molecules going up, speeding up molecules going down and pulling down molecules on the level. It also means that atmospheric loss since the Dinosaurs will cause Global cooling to continue until the air pressure on the surface is about one tenth of what it is now, in about 200 million years time. Air pressure was about 3 bar, 60 million years ago and each year 97,000 tons of the Earths Atmosphere is being lost to space. After that, we have Global Warming due to the Sun expanding until the Oceans boil and the Earth fries.

        1. hefner
          May 4, 2019

          Do you have a reference of a book or a paper explaining all that. I am sorry but cannot understand how the layers near the top of the atmosphere where I suppose pressure is very small could heat up then cool down while pressure is increasing going down. What is so special with the level around 100 hPa?

          I get the temperature increase in the lower layers of the atmosphere, if anything by increased pressure and shorter path lengths between two collisions of molecules (kinetic energy definition of temperature) but I must have missed a bit of the argument for layers above the tropopause, which I guess must be explained in a properly reviewed written document.
          My limited understanding of such a theory would have made me think of a decreasing temperature profile from surface to wherever the top of the atmosphere is assumed to be.

          I am also keen on figuring out how this theory applies say to Mars, Earth and Venus, three (solid) planets where the respective atmospheres (and the prevailing surface pressures) are so different
          It is always good to have different explanations for the same observed phenomena.

  52. Lindsay McDougall
    May 2, 2019

    There is another thing to worry about. The EU is now allowing cars made in Japan to enter the EU tariff free. When we leave the EU, Japan will want the same concession from us. Inevitably, some car production will shift to Japan.

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