NAA Update: Government industrial and trade strategies promise the delivery of the £2 billion Automotive Transformation Fund
Support is needed for Britain’s world-leading commitment to decarbonise road transport, including bold incentives to encourage EV take up, more affordable electricity, significant additional investment in infrastructure, and a clear and consistent message that buying an electric vehicle is the right thing to do.
Welcome to this month’s newsletter and I hope you are all keeping well.
We’re all aware that automotive manufacturers are facing a perfect storm of international trade uncertainty, challenging manufacturing conditions and a global EV transition that’s proving tougher than expected – issues that affect the UK amid key model changeovers on factory lines. It’s not unexpected, therefore, that the latest SMMT data published last month showed a -17.7% dip in UK vehicle production in January, in comparison with a strong performance in the same month last year.
Manufacturers are doing all they can to keep production plans on track, with billions of pounds in investment and thousands of jobs at stake. Support is needed, and government can provide it with its forthcoming industrial and trade strategies, which must prioritise our industry and ensure the timely rollout of the £2 billion promised with the Automotive Transformation Fund.
Delivery of these strategies will also support Britain’s world-leading commitment to decarbonise road transport which, as the Committee for Climate Change’s (CCC) latest carbon budget last month made clear, is the single most important factor in delivering national ambition. The CCC report actually forecasts EV take up ahead of the ZEV mandated levels, something that will only happen if we have bold incentives to encourage demand, more affordable electricity, significant additional investment in infrastructure, and a clear and consistent message that buying an electric vehicle is the right thing to do. Increased demand would also help our manufacturing competitiveness, realising planned investment and, hopefully, attracting further commitments across both vehicle production and, especially, the supply chain.
The Global Manufacturing Technology Show (GMTS) will take place on 19 – 20 November and the NAA is pleased to be a Founding Partner. With a global reach that connects the manufacturing sector with hundreds of innovative companies, GMTS will present the very latest cutting-edge technology, products and services to help the industry navigate the ever-evolving world of modern manufacturing. This is a great opportunity to position your brand and turbo-charge your sales pipeline by presenting your market-leading expertise in the content theatres and take a stand to meet leading manufacturers and suppliers. We have negotiated a 15% discount for all NAA Members on stand space so please get in touch with Zoe before the end of April for more details.
Moving on to the membership side, we welcome three new members this month:
PEC Packaging – Specialist in the design and manufacture of automotive packaging from finished vehicles to small trim components.
Procurement Systems – An innovative provider of procurement solutions, saving organisations money and streamlining processes.
Webber Engineering NW – A leading national supplier of prefabricated pipework and steelwork for all commercial and industrial applications.
We will hear more from our new members in the coming weeks.
Finally, if any of your colleagues aren’t receiving this e-news, and you think it may be of interest to them, please ask them to sign up with Zoe.
Paul Jones
NAA CEO
