According to the head of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), continuing to attract inward investment will be key to electrifying the UK automotive sector and thereby ensuring its future success.
In a CEO update, SMMT chief Mike Hawes pointed to the strong foundations in the UK automotive sector, such as a productive and skilled workforce, strong research and development and a leading position in advanced engineering and manufacturing. Hawes said the sector needed to build on these strengths, but he also pointed out that measures in other countries to promote green investment could threaten inward investment to the UK, adding:
“Recent measures in China, the US with its Inflation Reduction Act and now the EU’s response could put the UK at a disadvantage. We need a framework and pitch that allows us to compete and delivers sustainable projects, long-term economic growth and rapid decarbonisation.”
Among various measures, Hawes suggested reforming business rates to make it more supportive of growth, taking practical measures to increase competitiveness, and finding ways to mitigate sharp rises in energy costs. He said that such measures would not only help highly productive sectors like UK automotive to prosper—it would also help meet goals for levelling up, net-zero, and global trade.
As the UK’s automotive and wider manufacturing sectors transition to a low-carbon future, here at TrAchem, we can help businesses to keep pace with the latest developments in lubrication, such as products based on polyglycols (PAG) like the Klubersynth GH 6 gear oil.
