The managing director of leading R&D firm Horiba MIRA has urged optimism amid a wave of challenges for the UK’s automotive industry, highlighting its “second-to-none” talent pool.
The past year has brought with it a marked rise in cynicism regarding the industry’s prospects, with the protracted collapse of battery start-up Britishvolt and a wave of 1300 job cuts at Ford of Britain both making national headlines.
Britshvolt went into administration owing £160 million to its creditors, having been pledged a £100m grant from the government. It has been widely reported that this grant was never given to Britishvolt because it required the start-up to hit construction milestones that it failed to meet amid its battle to find a financier.
Ford, on the other hand, lost $2.0 billion (£1.6bn) in 2022, prompting a wide-reaching cost review programme. Ford of Europe boss Martin Sander has said the firm is pursuing a “leaner and more cost-competitive structure” amid its transition to EVs – which bring reduced mechanical complexity and thus fewer engineering demands.
And Nissan chief financial officer Ashwani Gupta has warned that the UK is now “more challenging” as an automotive manufacturing hub, owing to a reduction in suppliers.
In March, Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors reportedly put pressure on the government for £500m in funding to build a battery plant in the UK, giving ministers “weeks” to make a decision.
Yet amid the warnings of industrial decline, Declan Allen, an engineer with more than 30 years’ experience and more than a decade at Horiba MIRA, has claimed the future may be brighter than many believe.
Speaking exclusively to Autocar, he said: “The technology trend has meant there’s lots of new entrants trying to get involved, because clearly the [established] manufacturers have got a big challenge. They've got to make today's product and in parallel make tomorrow's.
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