Britain’s car industry falls on hard times

CGTN Europe

UK car production has fallen, as exports slow due to weaker global demand.  This comes amid turmoil for the industry following the row over EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.   CGTN’s Ray Addison was at the London EV show.   #EVs #UK #London #ElectricVehicle #Cars

Transcript

00:00There was no sign of Stellantis at this year's London EV show, but the firm's announcement

00:05that it plans to shut its Vauxhall van factory in southern England cast a shadow over the

00:11event.

00:12Six months ago, the company, which owns the Peugeot, Citroën, Chrysler and Fiat brands,

00:17urged the UK government to do more to boost demand to help it comply with rules requiring

00:22automakers to sell more EVs.

00:25But now it's joining Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan and GM in cutting jobs amid softening sales

00:31of electric vehicles, which consumers see as too expensive.

00:36On Wednesday, the managing director of Ford UK called on the government to give car buyers

00:40more incentives to purchase electric vehicles, saying the current mandate to end sales of

00:46new combustion vehicles by 2030 just doesn't work.

00:50Meanwhile, China continues to negotiate with the EU after the world's largest trading

00:55block increased tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles to as much as 45.3% for at least

01:02five years.

01:04This three-day event is about more than just sales for the companies exhibiting here.

01:08It's a chance to connect and exchange views on the big issues, and right now it doesn't

01:14get much bigger than EU trade tariffs on China.

01:17It affected all the industrial business because it means it will be more expensive for the

01:25European guys to buy the EV car, the imported car from China.

01:30I think there's a lot of uncertainty in the market at the moment.

01:34Tariffs are fluctuating, legislation is changing.

01:38So I think the thing that we need as manufacturers and designers and developers of electric vehicles

01:45is we need a bit of certainty.

01:47As you can imagine, this tariff, if in place, will definitely impact the demand for EV vehicles,

01:53which in turn will, we believe, impact the demand for EV charging supplies as well.

01:58I'll be honest with you, I haven't really seen a major impact in the marketplace at

02:02the moment.

02:03And also with my number of connections and people I speak to on a daily basis, I can't

02:08see it reaffecting it.

02:09As negotiations between China and the European Union continue, there are fears among some

02:14European automakers that the tariffs could cause disruption to supply chains and lead

02:20to higher costs for consumers.

02:21If that happens, it could pile extra pressure on an industry which is already struggling.

02:27Ray Addison, CGTN, London.

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