FutuRe
of automotive technology
Mini magic: the marque may not be UK-owned, but it is manufactured here
Less gloom, more vroom
IF YOU ARE after some early ideas
for light summer holiday reading,
why not consider The British Motor
Industry 1945-1994 — A Case
Study in Industrial Decline.
A quick search on the internet
provides details of author Timothy
Whisler’s in-depth investigation of
just what went wrong with the UK
automotive sector in the 50-year
period he examines.
It is not difficult to imagine the
ground he covers in what is no
doubt a compelling and authoritative
study. Poor management,
union strife, government interference,
unreliable products and
mounting losses must provide
fertile ground for the economic
historian in search of a genuine
post-war industrial basket case.
But that, as they say, was
then. On behalf of the UK
automotive sector, The Engineer
makes the following plea to
those who persist in viewing it
as a national embarrassment —
cheer up please!
In the second of an occasional
series of special issues that take
an in-depth look at key sectors of
engineering and technology, we set
out the case for the defence and
believe it is a strong one.
The following pages tell a story
of an automotive sector very different
to the one of 25 years ago. In
the first place, for a nation regularly
described as ‘having no car
industry’ the UK can actually make
a fair claim to being the car manufacturer
of choice to the world.
As the Nissans, Toyotas and
Minis roll off the production lines it
seems perverse to maintain the UK
is incapable of making vehicles.
Then there is our hugely
impressive automotive technology
sector, encompassing engine
development, novel transmissions,
advanced structures, vehicle
electronics, alternative power
the EnGIneeR 21 APRIL–4 MAY 2008 5
systems and just about anything
else you care to mention.
Throw in a world-leading
position in motorsport technology
and the ‘Britishness’ of some of the
most recognisable brand names in
the global industry and things don’t
seem nearly so bad.
So why is the UK auto sector all
too often viewed through a prism of
negativity? Perhaps in the end it all
comes down to a sense of ownership.
The UK may make all those
cars and develop all that clever
technology, but the ultimate ownership
lies elsewhere, in the US, in
Germany and, increasingly, in Asia.
If so, this is more a matter of
wounded pride than a rational
response, possibly tinged with
regret for what ‘might have
been’ if things had been handled
differently in the era chronicled by
Whisler. It is tempting to make an
analogy with the England football
team, where some see the need
for foreign management as
demeaning to the nation.
That isn’t the way the world
works any more. If a mobile phone
manufacturer chooses to make its
products here, and especially if
those handsets include elements of
UK-developed technology, we
celebrate it as a double-win rather
than bemoan the fact that the
name on the box is Finnish or
Japanese.
And imagine if a nation of our
size and population had come from
nowhere to a similar status in the
global auto sector. We would look
at it as a success story.
It isn’t about where we have
come from but where we are going,
and that will be the real challenge.
The UK automotive sector will have
plenty of ups and downs in the
future, as will every other industry
in every other nation. But just for
today, let’s raise a cheer for it.
Andrew Lee, editor
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