The British motor industry is urging the UK government and the European Union to establish closer post-Brexit ties to safeguard tens of thousands of jobs and significant investment in the sector. Central to these concerns is the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act, a proposed piece of legislation aimed at protecting strategic European manufacturing industries from cheaper overseas competitors amid ongoing global trade tensions.
The act’s “Made in Europe” provisions, designed to bolster the competitiveness of European manufacturers, currently exclude vehicles assembled in the UK. This exclusion poses a particular challenge for the British automotive sector, which remains deeply integrated into European supply chains and benefits from substantial investment by German companies such as BMW and Volkswagen. Moreover, many UK factories rely heavily on exports to the EU.
A report commissioned by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and produced by Oxford Economics highlights the scale of the UK-EU automotive relationship, estimating trade between the two at around £80 billion. The report notes that the UK is the EU’s largest export market for passenger cars, and European manufacturers supply more automotive components to the UK than to any other international market.
The SMMT has been advocating for the UK motor industry to be recognized as a “trusted partner” under the Industrial Accelerator Act, seeking status that would allow British-assembled vehicles to benefit from the protections afforded by the legislation. With the act advancing through the EU legislative process, the trade body has called on UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Brussels officials to address the potential economic fallout of excluding the UK.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, emphasized the longstanding integration of UK and EU automotive sectors, stating that “despite Brexit, supply chains remain deeply integrated” and that the UK continues to be an essential part of Europe’s automotive ecosystem. The report estimates that excluding the UK from the act could have economic consequences beyond Britain, potentially costing Germany €6.3 billion and France €2 billion. It suggests that UK carmakers support tens of thousands of jobs across Europe, including 69,000 in Germany, 66,000 spread across France, Spain, and Italy, and 23,000 in Poland.
While the EU aims to strengthen its industrial base amid global trade challenges, the British automotive industry warns that the exclusion of UK-assembled vehicles could be counterproductive, potentially disrupting tightly linked supply chains and undermining collaborative growth within the sector on both sides of the Channel. The SMMT’s appeal underscores the complex economic interdependencies that persist despite the political separation caused by Brexit.