Britain's Auto Industry Doing Well

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The British car industry is enjoying a revival, according to auto executives meeting for a summit in London. They say UK firms are well-placed to keep making cars and develop new technologies for greener vehicles.

Nissan's Qashqai.

A compact SUV from a Japanese carmaker - named after a tribe in Iran - will be made in the UK.

Nissan recently announced the new version will be built at its plant in Sunderland, northern England.

This month, BMW said it's investing £500 million in the Mini plant near Oxford.

That may surprise some - who think Britain's car industry has slowly declined since its heyday in the 1960s.

Many once British brands are now owned by foreign firms.

But auto executives meeting in London say the UK's car industry is well-placed for future growth.

Paul Everitt is CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

[Paul Everitt, CEO of Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders]:
"It's important that we now build momentum, and the opportunity for us is down into the supply chain. So vehicle manufacturers have committed to making vehicles here, what we now need is more of the value of those vehicles to be created here. The new drivetrains of the future, low, ultra-low vehicles are clearly the future for us as an industry globally. We have a lot of interesting new technologies here in the UK."

The SMMT says the British auto industry is still a driving force - employing some 700 000 people in manufacturing, retail and servicing.

And it's growing.

The global auto market has rebounded since the financial crisis - and analysts believe Britain is well-placed to not only keep making cars - but also to develop new technologies for greener vehicles.

Richard Hill, is Head of Automotive at RBS.

[Richard Hill, Head of Automotive, RBS]:
"I hope that the UK will find its niche going forward is around technology, low CO2 developments and that sort of thing and coming from the financial services side, the banking side, that's somewhere where we have got a lot of interest in supporting and investing in the future in that respect.

The global auto industry slowdown forced some British firms to restructure.

That now means they are better placed than some of their European neighbours to grow in the future.

Indeed, the UK summit comes as the Swedish carmaker Saab struggles to survive.

It has managed to secure some funding by signing a 28 million euro property sale.

But production remains halted as they now try to reach deals with suppliers over unpaid bills.

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