July/August 2019

BY Andrew Marsh S ome of us remember the 1970s, where the prevailing feeling was that automotive sophistication usually came from abroad unless one spent a huge amount of cash, that our industry was led mainly by endlessly upset activists, and that our biggest vehicle manufacturer – ‘British Leyland‘ at some point – represented what the UK was all about. This was for the most part utter rubbish. Of course, much of the above does not stand close scrutiny, but it is true that British Leyland kept giving Fleet Street a continuous supply of headlines which money simply could not buy. Red Robbo, for example was an odd man, who sincerely believed in his cause and did not apparently connect that disruptive work patterns simply made poor manufacturing processes (the cause of the dispute) much, much worse. Who could forget the geniuses who placed a brand-new manufacturing line at Cowley (now called ‘Oxford’ by the present occupiers) where the established time for people to work underneath vehicles was gloriously exceeded? Or the star who invested in the Rover 800 based on volumes of 400,000 units, yet failed to sell a fraction of that even with a facelift? Or that the very same star would later arrive to drive the rump of British Leyland (MG Rover) into the ground? It has taken decades to shake off the implosion of UK automotive manufacturing, even though in reality the companies that needed to shape up or fail were mostly shaping up. Our national preoccupation with failure seemed to eclipse the success of the UK building 1.6 million vehicles and more than 2.7 million powertrains in 2018, even though it did take quite a few years to build those volumes back up. Behind vehicle manufacturing is a series of suppliers, and suppliers to those suppliers. When vehicle manufacturing disappears from a country – or in the case of many – was never present, the aftermarket becomes 100% reliant on imported components, as well as vital expertise. We need to be aware of what is happening in vehicle manufacturing even though the changes in manufacturing take place over several years. Brexit and deals Much is made of the uncertainty around Brexit. Some of that is very real, but as Her Majesty’s Government knows full well the impact may be mostly concentrated on taxation. Those who remember past events will recall, the government can 26 AFTERMARKET JULY/AUGUST 2019 TECHNICAL www.aftermarketonline.net DAYS OF FUTURE PAST? Andrew Marsh considers the future of UK-based vehicle manufacturing, suppliers and the impact on the aftermarket in the UK towards 2025