Speaking at the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Trader’s (www.smmt.co.uk) 100th Annual Dinner last week, SMMT president Gareth Jones said that new cars imported from the European Union could significantly increase in price if the UK leaves the Single Market.

Mr Jones said new SMMT analysis suggests that EU tariffs on cars could add at least an annual £2.7 billion to imports and £1.8 billion to exports.

“Import tariffs alone could push up the list price of cars imported to the UK from the Continent by an average of £1,500 if brands and their retail networks were unable to absorb these additional costs,” he said.

Addressing more than 1,100 industry leaders and Government officials, Mr Jones said that the UK automotive sector’s “fundamental strengths”, including one of the world’s most highly skilled and productive workforces, will “stand it in good stead to face challenges”, but warned that “success cannot be taken for granted”.

He said that SMMT members want to see “membership of the Single Market retained, consistency in regulations, access to global talent and the ability to trade abroad free from barriers and ‘red tape’. The Government needs to make the right decisions to protect the automotive sector”.

Mr Jones added: “The renaissance is down to years of hard work, hard-won investment and long-term collaborative partnership between industry and the Government. We operate in an intensely competitive environment.

“We need to create the right conditions for future competitiveness, for developing skills and securing the strength of our economy by investing in R&D and enabling new technologies to be developed here in the UK.”

Mr Jones was speaking on the same day that the SMMT launched a report produced by KPMG that claims the transition to digital manufacturing through new technologies such as 3-D printing and Artificial Intelligence has the potential to “significantly boost productivity still further”.

The Digitalisation of Automotive Manufacturing in the UK forecasts that more-effective use of data will reduce plant maintenance downtime, speed up product planning and improve quality, cutting customer waiting time for a new car by as much as a third.

The report says: “The so-called fourth Industrial Revolution will be a ‘step change’ in manufacturing, with production lines developing more over the next five to 10 years than in the past half century. This could add an annual £6.9 billion to industry turnover, including a £2.6 billion supply chain boost, while also delivering £74 billion to the wider UK economy over the next 20 years.

“The report says that realising this potential will require “significant investment”, which will depend upon “maintaining the UK’s international competitiveness and being part of future regulatory and standards development”.