After Brexit: Here's The State Of The British Auto Industry In America
The UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is tasked with, according to the SMMT, promoting “the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad.”
Prior to the June 23 Brexit vote for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, the SMMT insisted that voting “remain” was critical to the UK automotive industry. Brexit could jeopardise jobs, automakers were in agreement that remaining was important, and pointed to the UK’s 800,000 auto industry jobs and its £15.5 billion contribution to the economy as reasons to stay in the European Union.
But the Brexit vote to leave, led largely by UKIP’s Nigel Farage, produced a 52 percent in favour result, a margin of victory valued at 1.27 million votes. Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron will resign. Economic indicators, predicted to stabilize, rode a rollercoaster overnight. Says the SMMT’s Mike Hawes today: “Government must now maintain economic stability and secure a deal with the EU which safeguards UK automotive interests. This includes securing tariff-free access to European and other global markets.”
Securing such a deal will not be easy or quick, nor will subsequent free trade deals with other nations be immediately forthcoming. The actual Brexit process will be very long. Britons’ EU passports didn’t spontaneously combust early this morning.
In the meantime, therefore, much will continue as usual. The UK automotive industry will continue to build cars and send them tariff-free to other EU nations because, for now, the UK is still part of the EU. British-built cars and SUVs will continue to be shipped to North America under existing rules and regulations, as well.
And which cars and SUVs are those? These are all the volume British brand vehicles sold in America through the first five months of 2016.
Vehicle/Brand/Automaker2016 5 Months2015 5 Months% ChangeJaguar-Land Rover39,19134,28814.3%Land Rover Brand30,94327,66911.8%Mini Brand20,23024,086-16.0%Mini Cooper15,33117,259-11.2%Mini Cooper Hardtop 2-Door *5,3908,802-38.8%Mini Cooper Hardtop 4-Door *5,3366,375-16.3%Mini Cooper Clubman *3,4041130,846%Mini Cooper Convertible *1,1951,314-9.1%Mini Cooper Coupe *3207-98.6%Mini Cooper Roadster *3550-99.5%Land Rover Range Rover Sport8,7489,657-9.4%Jaguar -Brand8,2486,61924.6%Land Rover Range Rover6,9947,893-11.4%Land Rover Discovery Sport5,890587903%Land Rover LR45,3493,62247.7%Mini Countryman4,8516,237-22.2%Land Rover Range Rover Evoque3,9595,845-32.3%Jaguar XF3,6803,14417.0%Jaguar F-Type1,7001,701-0.1%Jaguar XJ1,6011,5473.5%Jaguar F-Pace666——Jaguar XE598——Bentley Brand4841,026-52.8%Aston Martin Brand ‡4304251.2%Rolls-Royce Brand3743526.3%Lotus Brand ‡70657.7%Mini Paceman48590-91.9%Jaguar XK3227-98.7%Land Rover LR2365-95.4%————Total60,77960,2420.9%Source: BMW USA, Jaguar-Land Rover, ANDC, WSJ
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My friend in China just bought an MG. That should help keep the British economy rolling. Oh wait, the cowed, EU-led Britain spent the past four decades selling off their industries (and their souls) to the highest bidder. Happy independence day to the people of Great Britain, and congrats on taking your country back from those who tried to buy it out from under you.
We all live in a world where we have noticed that every transaction has had a marketer/MBA look at it and say "how can I get $5 (or more) out of them". Airlines are a great example. Pay and it can be nice, or don't and you will be treated like trash. Government, at the Federal level, has become basically non responsive to people. There are too many examples to cite. If you don't have a lot of money or well focused lobby (preferably both) things don't get fixed. Guns, Health Care, useless wars in useless foreign nations are notable examples. Problems that occur to people aren't dealt with, at all, but heaven and earth will move for large corporate interests. Go a bit down the demographic way. Remove a few education points, drop the credit rating, take away the cushioning bank account. You don't get customer service, you now get "visit us on the web" and no representative. You don't need a Haaavvvard education to know that the base assumptions have been moved, and not in your favor. Not because you are stupid...you aren't, but because you know your reality has been changed by folks who are untouchable to you and have different rules than you. The chattering classes are flummoxed that Leave won. Trump, who is at heart a con-man, will key into this same vein. I gotta give him credit for pwning the Republican Party, but beyond that, I'm going to vote, but ignore the top line of the ballot. I think that if you could somehow secede from the Federal Government, and keep that tax money in your state, you'd find a lot of support..except in the South, where most states are "Takers". The brits voted to lose rules from Brussels (Wot ? no pints ? I want a pint, not a bloody half liter), the financial sink holes of Greece, Spain and Italy, and to avoid having to take in the illegal wave from the Middle East. I'd have voted Leave. The sun will come up tomorrow.