So Vince Cable is off to Detroit to see the bosses of some of the world’s most successful and high volume car makers. In his trip he will make the case for further investment in the UK’s car industry, despite the UK having lost, to a certain degree, its reputation for being a centre of car making. Indeed, many would argue that the UK is no longer a centre of manufacturing anything.
Optimistic Vince, on the other hand, begs to differ. It is rumoured that in a speech he is set to make he will point out to the top brass at Ford and General Motors that the UK’s manufacturing sector is in fact comparable in size – relatively speaking – to those of France and the USA. He will also say that the UK government has ear-marked 200 million pounds for Technology and Innovation Centres, which aim to help bring new technology to the shop floor in as quick a time as possible.
Of course, 200 million pounds is actually quite a small figure when compared to the vastness of research and development investment across the board. And getting car makers to invest in the UK is very difficult, especially when countries like Germany, with its powerhouse of car manufacturing, already attract so much of it.
But despite the challenges, UK car making is on the up, and Vince Cable is looks set to become the equivalent of the industry’s annual breakdown cover, meeting and greeting the great and good of international car making, in the hope that foreign car makers will dig deep into their pockets and think of Britain as a centre of car development and manufacturing.
He will be hoping, no doubt, that the likes of Tata – who recently committed 5 billion pounds worth of investment to its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover – will be mimicked by many other famous car marques.