Report identifies £2bn opportunity for automotive suppliers

The report, released at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) Open Forum event at Cranmore Park, Solihull, assesses the capacity for the UK to increase local supply of components and raw materials that are currently imported.

According to the Automotive Council, the £2bn figure comes on top of £3bn identified in 2013 for supply direct to vehicle manufacturers.

Currently around one third of the components in a UK-built vehicle are sourced in the UK. The report identifies a realistic aim to increase this local content to around 60 per cent, a figure similar to other European countries including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Another key finding to emerge from the report is that UK automotive suppliers are generally confident about their future prospects. Of the companies surveyed, 80 per cent expect their business to grow in the near-term.

In a statement, Dave Allen, purchasing director, Jaguar Land Rover and Chair of the Automotive Council Supply Chain Group, said, ‘The current success of the UK automotive sector presents a renewed opportunity for automotive suppliers to invest in the UK and to increase local sourcing of the high value components that the UK’s world-class vehicle makers require.