No deal Brexit would cost car industry £50,000 a minute warns trade body

The warning is made in The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) 2019 UK Automotive Trade Report, which highlights the importance of automotive trade to the UK economy and the high stakes of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

The report claims that an end to borderless trade could bring crippling disruptions to the industry’s just-in-time operating model. Delays to shipments of parts to production plants are measured in minutes, with every 60 seconds costing £50,000 in gross value added – amounting to some £70m a day in a worst case scenario.

SMMT adds that combined with WTO tariffs, which for trade in passenger cars alone amount to £4.5bn a year, this would deliver a knockout blow to the sector’s competitiveness, undermining a decade of extraordinary growth.

Addressing an audience of business leaders and government officials at the industry’s annual International Automotive Summit in London Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “Automotive matters to UK trade and to the economy, and this report shows that, if the right choices are made, a bright future is possible. However, ‘no deal’ remains the clear and present danger. We are already seeing the consequences of uncertainty, the fear of no deal. The next PM’s first job in office must be to secure a deal that maintains frictionless trade because, for our industry, ‘no deal’ is not an option and we don’t have the luxury of time.”