| Can 'foreign' car giants revive British industry?
Does it matter that the car industry in Britain is foreign owned? It is a much-asked question after a week in which the Government celebrated investment into Sunderland from a Japanese company, two historic British brands - Mini and Rolls-Royce - posted record results for their German parent, and a US group refused to rule out the closure of its Ellesmere Port and Luton plants. The Brit then travelled through managing director roles at Land Rover, BMW South Africa and Rolls-Royce, before he was appointed to the BMW board in 2008. Today, he is an unofficial global ambassador for British automotive manufacturing and will provide the keynote speech at the Society of Motor Manufacturing and Trading (SMMT) conference this summer. Sir Ian Gibson, the chairman of Trinity Mirror and Morrisons, grew from being one of Nissan's first UK employees to the company's first non-Japanese board member. Also, the current chief executive of Ford Europe, Stephen Odell, used to lead Jaguar's sales and marketing in North American, while Allan Rushforth was sales director of Land Rover in 1990s before moving to Audi and then to Hyundai, where he leads the South Korean company's European business despite it having no manufacturing facilities in the UK. "The global industry knows that the UK is the best source of automotive talent," says Paul Everitt, the chief executive of the SMMT. In the absence of a domestic-owned manufacturer, British workers have climbed their way to the upper echelons of foreign companies instead. GM is reviewing the future of its loss-making European arm and could close its Ellesmere Port or Luton Vauxhall plants. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, flew out to the US earlier this month for urgent talks with GM management. "In a truly global industry those with a UK background are able to adapt and to help shape teams drawn from a selection of cultures and countries. In turn, the global industry has adapted and helped those UK leaders so they can now comment on and advise their house government from a much wider context. "We would like to see more stimulation into the economy for growth," says Robertson at BMW. Overseas companies may be driving the future of the industry, but British executives are helping to steer. 3m grant from the Government, will allow a whole new compact model called the Invitation to be builtin Sunderland. The Japanese company arrived in Sunderland in 1986 and now designs, develops, and builds in the country. "In Germany there are various local banks. However, while the rise of British executives it is impressive, they are unable to offer support alongside the government to the one company that needs it most. Nick Reilly, the former president of General Motors Europe, retired at the turn of the year meaning the biggest car company in the world has no British influence at the top. Manufacturing policy is not a one-term issue, in Germany policy has been in place for years. The consistency of approach could have been better. There needs to be consistent support for apprentices, research and development, and from banking. The intense competition in the UK market, willingness to innovate and determination to succeed all play their part in giving UK executives the skills they need at the highest levels. Robertson claims the revival of Mini since 2001 occurred because BMW has been "authentic to its history", despite launching radical new takes on the car such as the four-door Countryman. The success of Rolls-Royce and Mini over the last decade has been hailed as an example of how efficient German management can succeed where sub-standard British leaders have failed. Yet, the man who has overseen the brands in the last few years is from Shropshire, Ian Robertson. He joined Rover as a graduate trainee in 1979, after mulling a career in the oil industry despite a passion for cars. The Government has supported Nissan because it is a crucial source of jobs in the North East of England - employing almost 6,000 people directly - and has opened the door to further foreign investment by changing the image of car manufacturing in Britain. When Nissan arrived in the 1980s, manufacturing was riddled with poor labour relations, high costs, and inefficient workforces. The baton taken on by Nissan in the 1980s for UK car manufacturing, is today with Jaguar Land Rover. "If you add the indirect numbers to the direct numbers then you will get an even higher and impressive number. We are also repatriating at the moment the first companies [suppliers] in the UK. So you can see the power there is and the benefit there is for the region and the nation. Jaguar and Land Rover have been nurturing talent in the industry for years. We once did a survey and found there were 45 cars within 1km of the Berkeley Square dealer. BMW's expansion in the UK is being followed by other car makers. "You have to be careful with Rolls-Royce," Robertson says. |
Monday, 12 March 2012
Can 'foreign' car giants revive British industry?
