{"id":3642,"date":"2016-06-20T15:33:25","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T15:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/?p=3642"},"modified":"2016-06-20T15:33:25","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T15:33:25","slug":"staying-eu-best-business-jobs-insists-smmt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/staying-eu-best-business-jobs-insists-smmt\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Staying in the EU best for business and jobs’ insists SMMT"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Staying in the European Union is best for its business and best for British jobs, says the Society of\u00a0 Motor Manufacturers and Traders today, three days before the EU referendum.<\/h3>\n

The SMMT, which represents the UK automotive industry, said it wants to ensure there is \u201cabsolute clarity on the sector\u2019s position given recent misrepresentations in the Europe debate\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, \u201cUK automotive is globally competitive, securing record levels of investment, creating tens of thousands of jobs annually and exporting to over 100 countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want this success to continue rather than jeopardise it by increasing costs, making our trading relationships uncertain and creating new barriers to our single biggest and most important market, Europe. Remaining will allow the UK to retain the influence on which the unique and successful UK automotive sector depends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere should be no ambiguity about the sector\u2019s views ahead of such a critical vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

The industry, he said, supports 800,000 jobs across the UK and contributes \u00a315.5 billion annually to the economy.<\/p>\n

The industry is export led with around 80% of vehicles heading abroad, with 58% going to the rest of the EU.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnrestricted access to the world\u2019s largest single market, the negotiating strength of the EU to secure international trade deals, the ability to shape technical regulations and free movement of labour all provide significant benefits to UK businesses,\u201d said Hawes.<\/p>\n

A number of senior car brand managers have also added their voice in support of the \u2018remain\u2019 cause.<\/p>\n

Ken Gregor, chief financial Officer of Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Remaining in the EU \u2013 our largest market \u2013 will increase Jaguar Land Rover’s chances to grow, create jobs and attract investment in future technologies. Our European supply chain has been fundamental in helping us to meet customer expectations worldwide and achieve sustainable, profitable growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Walker, deputy managing director, Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK, said: \u201cAfter considered review, we believe that continued membership of the European Union is best for our business and for our competitiveness in the longer term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Ian Robertson, member of the board of management at BMW AG, said: \u201cWe firmly believe Britain would be better off if it remained an active and influential member of the EU, shaping European regulations which will continue to impact the UK whatever the decision on Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Rory Harvey, managing director and chairman of Vauxhall, said: \u201cWe are part of a fully integrated European company where we benefit from the free movement of goods and people. We believe not to be part of the EU would be undesirable for our business and the sector as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

In January, before the start of the campaigning period, the SMMT commissioned a survey of its members \u2013 which includes car and commercial vehicle manufacturers, parts suppliers and aftermarket companies \u2013 for their views on whether remain or leave was the best option for the .<\/p>\n

77% of the firms surveyed said remaining in Europe would be the best for their business, with 9% saying leaving would be best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Staying in the European Union is best for its business Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[400,35],"class_list":["post-3642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-brexit","tag-smmt"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.lnetdev.uk\/thevra2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}