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Investment in U.K.’s Auto Industry Plummets
Continued dithering by the British government about the U.K.’s exit plan from the European Union has cut investment in the country’s auto industry by 42%.
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Continued dithering by the British government about the U.K.’s exit plan from the European Union has cut investment in the country’s auto industry by 42%, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
SMMT reports that new spending on plants, machinery and equipment shrank to £374 million ($491 million) in the first half of 2018 from £647 million ($849 million) in the same period last year. The trade group blames frustration in company boardrooms about the slow pace of negotiations regarding trade rules after Brexit begins next spring.
The EU represents slightly more than half of British trade. The auto industry frets about higher costs and import delays if the government decides to simply quit the EU with no new trade agreements in place.
Its unrealistic to assume new trade arrangements will match the “immense value” of trade with the EU, says SMMT CEO Mike Hawes, who warns “there is no credible ‘Plan B’ for frictionless customs arrangements.”
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