Interview: Millbrook's John Proctor on testing tomorrow's vehicle technologies

From the rise of electrification to the advent of autonomy, the automotive sector is going through a noted period of rapid evolution. And as technical director for UK test services at Millbrook, John Proctor is at the sharp end of that change - charged with delivering the test capabilities that are key to getting an ever-more complex array of automotive technologies safely onto the road.

Given the pandemic-induced slump in new car sales, one might expect things to be quieter than usual at Millbrook’s UK facilities (which include its iconic Bedfordshire proving ground and its powertrain site in Leyland, Lancashire) but talking to The Engineer earlier this year Proctor said that whilst there may be fewer people around, things are busier than ever. If anything - he said - the pace of technology change has, in fact, accelerated.

In much the same way that the civil aviation sector has used the current hiatus as a spring-board for its own low carbon plans, it appears, he said,  that automotive firms are also taking the opportunity to focus their attention on the technologies that will define the next generation of products. “The industry is having a break in terms of downturn in demand so they’re jumping ahead to new products. If anything, COVID has accelerated change. Because of demand changes people are trying to release products that are attractive to the market and are the future. COVID has effectively dragged things to the left on the timing plan. It’s almost removed a segment of the timing plan and shifted everything forward.”