WhichEV.Net
  • Buying Advice
  • EV Answers
  • Features
  • News
    • All
    • Charging
    • Commercial Vehicles
    • Consumer Vehicles
    • Cool Car Tech
    • Curiosities
    • Design
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Industry
    • Legal
    • Market
    • Motorsport
    • Public Sector
    • Records
    • Rumours
    • Safety
    • Sharing
    • Solar

    British firm Helix announces powerful electric motor for aerospace

    Biographite aims to make up 50% of future EV batteries

    Fully Charged teams up with FairCharge to combat EV misinformation

    ACCIONA SAINZ Extreme E championship lead narrows after eventful second Sardinia weekend

    Students shatter world record for EV acceleration

    Skoda fully embraces TfL Scrappage Scheme for Londoners

    Trending Tags

  • Reviews
No Result
View All Result
WhichEV.Net
  • Buying Advice
  • EV Answers
  • Features
  • News
    • All
    • Charging
    • Commercial Vehicles
    • Consumer Vehicles
    • Cool Car Tech
    • Curiosities
    • Design
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Industry
    • Legal
    • Market
    • Motorsport
    • Public Sector
    • Records
    • Rumours
    • Safety
    • Sharing
    • Solar

    British firm Helix announces powerful electric motor for aerospace

    Biographite aims to make up 50% of future EV batteries

    Fully Charged teams up with FairCharge to combat EV misinformation

    ACCIONA SAINZ Extreme E championship lead narrows after eventful second Sardinia weekend

    Students shatter world record for EV acceleration

    Skoda fully embraces TfL Scrappage Scheme for Londoners

    Trending Tags

  • Reviews
No Result
View All Result
WhichEV.Net
No Result
View All Result
Home News Consumer Vehicles

Will the UK follow Germany in auto-trade redundancies?

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
10th December 2019
in Consumer Vehicles, Employment, Industry, News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

As WhichEV reported earlier this week, estimates for the number of redundancies in the German auto-trade vary between 70,000 and 100,000 over the next 10 years. That number is staggeringly big and represents close to 12% of the entire car industry workforce. The key driver has been the increasingly demanding emissions standards demanded by the EU, with huge fines to follow for any manufacturer or owner who ignores the clean air initiatives. WhichEV asks: Could the same thing happen in the UK?

Speaking with industry insiders back in the summer, we were warned that one of the biggest challenges for the motor trade was the slump in residual values. Specifically, that the major brands can support attractive leasing rates on new cars, based on how much that car is likely to be worth in, say, 3 years' time with less than 40,000 miles on the clock.

As the new EU and local emission standards continue to bite through to October 2020 and beyond, fossil fuel cars are an unattractive prospect, because resale values are likely to be a lot lower than they have been traditionally. As a result, more drivers (consumer and commercial) are genuinely considering an EV purchase for the first time – but their choices are limited and the purchase price on most EVs still carries a big premium, despite the fact that we know that EVs are simpler to build.

The result is a slow, continuous reduction in new UK car registrations.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is one of the largest and most influential trade associations in the UK. It is dedicated to supporting the interests of the UK automotive industry. SMMT's Chief Executive is Mike Hawes and his view on the issue is clear.

“These are challenging times for the UK new car market, with another fall in November reflecting the current climate of uncertainty. It’s good news, however, to see registrations of electrified cars surging again, and 2020 will see manufacturers introduce plenty of new, exciting models to give buyers even more choice”, he told media recently.

“Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go for these vehicles to become mainstream and, to grow uptake further, we need fiscal incentives, investment in charging infrastructure and a more confident consumer”, he explained.

The motor trade is crucial for the UK's economy, with annual revenues close to £82 billion and the employment of 168,000 people directly in manufacturing, with a further 823,000 in associated industries.

While sales earlier in the year managed to give 2019 a good look, financially, the last three months has seen a steady slow down, with November dropping almost 10% compared to 2018. Unsurprisingly, the largest drop was from new registrations for diesel cars, which dropped over 27%. As a result, the overall vehicle market in the UK has shrunk by almost 3% in just 12 months. This SMMT chart shows a breakdown of new car (not commercial) registrations.

There is some good news in the figures, with pure electric vehicles climbing almost 230% – moving to an overall market share of 3%, up from 0.9% this time last year – but that figure is still far too small to balance the decaying fossil fuel numbers.

Globally, auto makers have publicly committed to spending almost $225 billion on the move from petrol/diesel over to electric vehicles. Unfortunately, if you are one of the 13,000 people that work directly for Ford in the UK, things are looking bleak, as the American giant has yet to sell a single EV while profits dropped my more than 80% last year.

A quick glance at any of the major manufacture's sites will tell you that they all have a strong message about electric vehicles. That said, when we recently visited all of their showrooms, the interest, enthusiasm and knowledge level from the staff themselves was distinctly low (apart from Nissan, who had us in a Leaf test vehicle inside 10 minutes).

Unsurprising that Nissan has moved more than 400,000 electric vehicles. While the Nissan is made in the UK, it seems that Vauxhall will eventually be using its plant in Zaragoza for the Corsa-e.

Positive moves are being made, but if the industry doesn't scramble (and scramble quickly), there could be a lot of bad news for UK auto workers in 2020. With so much at stake, will buyers consider the country of manufacture – more than in the past?

Tags: NissanVauxhall
Previous Post

Nissan launches EV Christmas TREE in Paris

Next Post

Two UK companies team up to make EVs more efficient through drive units

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Experienced writers from the automobile and technology sectors - working with the in-house EV editorial team to deliver top quality, independent content in a timely fashion.

Related Posts

British firm Helix announces powerful electric motor for aerospace

23rd September 2023

Biographite aims to make up 50% of future EV batteries

19th September 2023

Fully Charged teams up with FairCharge to combat EV misinformation

18th September 2023

ACCIONA SAINZ Extreme E championship lead narrows after eventful second Sardinia weekend

18th September 2023
Next Post

Two UK companies team up to make EVs more efficient through drive units

Discussion about this post

Review Finder

Latest News

British firm Helix announces powerful electric motor for aerospace

23rd September 2023

Self-driving shuttle buses begin carrying passengers in Milton Keynes

21st September 2023

Jeep Avenger 2023 Review

20th September 2023 - Updated on 21st September 2023

Trending

  • WhichEV Awards 2023: The Year’s Best EVs

    4057 shares
    Share 1623 Tweet 1014
  • Future electric cars: Best upcoming electric cars, SUVs and pickup trucks – 2021 UPDATE!

    1448 shares
    Share 595 Tweet 355
  • How to turn your favourite classic car into an EV

    1387 shares
    Share 572 Tweet 340
  • Octopus Electric Vehicles launches an all-in-one EV bundle

    1339 shares
    Share 536 Tweet 335
  • What makes an EV charging station accessible for people with disabilities?

    1279 shares
    Share 512 Tweet 320
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact the WhichEV team today

© 2022 WhichEV. Limited - All of the independent news and expert reviews you need in one publication.

No Result
View All Result
  • Buying Advice
  • EV Answers
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews

© 2022 WhichEV. Limited - All of the independent news and expert reviews you need in one publication.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.