UK rising to ‘green’ challenge ahead

The UK is more than capable of rising to the environmental challenges faced by the car industry, Business Secretary Vince Cable said during a visit to the Gaydon headquarters of Jaguar Land Rover. During his visit, Mr Cable was shown some of the latest fuel-efficient vehicles being developed by the company, now owned by India’s Tata Motors. JLR is the UK’s largest investor in automotive environmental technologies, and it is spending around £800 million on developing new technologies that will produce cleaner-burning engines and reduce CO2 exhaust emissions.

Mr Cable said: “The UK excels in making premium and niche cars, which are exported all over the world. Our premium-car sector is more than capable of rising to the environmental challenges facing the industry.” He also viewed the new Range Rover Evoque. This smaller, lighter, more fuel-efficient addition to the Range Rover line-up goes on sale next year. It is being built at the company’s Halewood plant on Merseyside and should create around 1,000 new jobs — supported by a Government grant of £27 million.

Asked about the state of the automotive sector, Mr Cable said: “The whole of the industry has taken a big hit, not just in Britain. I don’t think people fully understand the magnitude of the economic crisis that hit us; we had a massive collapse of the banking system, and the recession that followed destroyed a massive amount of wealth. We took a massive hit, but there is recovery — the job of this Government is to make sure that the recovery is sustained. “We are moving to growth, particularly on exports. The pound is competitive, and the Government is helping to create a good environment for business, so I am positive about what the industry has accomplished.”

Mr Cable also visited Aston Martin, where he got the chance to test-drive some of the company’s latest vehicles. “As I said on Desert Island Discs, driving an Aston Martin has always been a dream of mine. Fortunately for me, Aston Martin took note and gave me the opportunity not only to test-drive some of their cars, but also to witness the high level of skills and engineering that go into making premium and niche cars in the UK.”