The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Committee continues its Brexit inquiry with a
session on the automotive sector at 2pm on
Tuesday. This session is likely to examine the impact
Brexit on the automotive industry, in terms of manufacturing,
jobs and consumer prices. It will consider how different
scenarios relating to future customs and trading arrangements
might affect the industry in the UK and consider what the
Government should be seeking to achieve in negotiations.
Witnesses include the Society of Motor Manufacturers and
Traders (SMMT), Honda, Aston Martin and major suppliers such as
GKN.
The written evidence submissions for
the Committee’s Brexit automotives inquiry have also been
published today and are available to view here [click
‘view all’ to see the fourteen evidence submissions from SMMT,
Honda, Vauxhall, Ford, Unite the Union, the TUC and others).
Ahead of the evidence session, MP, Chair of the Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: “The
car industry has become a UK success story. Productive and
efficient car plants across the country have made the UK
automotive sector a significant contributor to our levels of
employment and our economic growth.
“The Chief Executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers
has described Brexit as the “greatest challenge of our time”. In
seeking to negotiate a Brexit deal that is in the national
interest, the Government must ensure the country’s key
industries, such as automotives, are in a position to thrive in
our new relationship with the EU.
“Cars rolling off the production lines in Sunderland and
Oxford are seen as British but the reality is they are made up of
thousands of components that are part of a massive and fully
integrated production system spanning Europe and beyond. This is
at the heart of the success of these highly efficient companies,
with lower consumer prices for cars as a result. Any new
relationship with Europe should aim to keep these strengths, both
for the benefit of the UK and the EU.”
Watch live and on-demand on Parliament
TV
Witnesses
Wednesday 14 November 2017, Committee Room 6, 14.00
At 14.00
- Mike Hawes, Chief Executive, Society of Motor Manufacturers
and Traders
- John Kingston, General Manager Corporate Communications,
Honda Motor Europe
-
, Chief Finance Officer,
Aston Martin
At 15.00
-
, Director of Group
External Relations, GKN plc
- Dermot
Sterne, Chief Executive, Applied Component Technologies
- Professor
David Bailey, Aston University
Editor’s Notes: The Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy Committee inquiry on the
implications of leaving the European Union for British business
is being conducted on a sectoral basis, including sectors such as
civil nuclear, automotive, and aerospace sectors. The Committee
aims to establish how the interests of different sectors should
best be pursued both in the negotiating process and post-Brexit
and attempts to examine a range of issues relating to market
access, non-tariff barriers, regulation, skills, R&D, trade
opportunities and transitional arrangements. The Committee’s
first session on Wednesday 1 November looked at the civil nuclear
sector, including membership of Euratom. After the session on
Tuesday on the automotive sector, the Committee will continue its
inquiry with sessions on the Aerospace, Processed food and drink,
and Pharmaceuticals sectors.
