And so we are now witnessing the rapid death of diesel-engined cars, just as car manufacturers have cracked the technology, at a substantial R&D cost to them, of producing clean engines. In order to recoup the huge spend on such technology, manufacturers need to sell those new diesel cars to the public. Only the Government has put a stop to that, because confidence about reselling a diesel car, and recouping any of the cost, is now at an all-time low. The result will be redundancies in UK-based manufacturing plants belonging to brands which have invested in new diesel tech such as JLR, Honda, Mini, Nissan, Toyota and Bentley. So well done to the UK government, for stalling sales of clean diesels before they’ve begun in earnest, and thereby damaging an industry which accounts for roughly five per cent of UK GDP, with a turnover of £77.5bn, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Excellent work, Philip Hammond. As usual, it will be left to innovative thinking by skilled bosses in the automotive sector to make the best of a bad fist. Which they will do, of course, because they’re used to bailing out UK Ltd and thriving despite the Government’s best efforts. Don’t you just wish, sometimes, that politicians would help, instead of hindering, one of the UK’s most profitable sectors?