UK Parties Disagree on How to Best Handle Brexit Tariff Threat for UK Cars and Vans

Jun 10, 2017Fleet News

As part of the upcoming election, the main political parties in the UK have outlined their plans as far as a Brexit deal goes. The full effects of Brexit are yet to be seen but one of the biggest concerns of many people is the effect it will have on the UK automotive industry which will in turn have a knock on effect on the fleet insurance industry as well.

The Conservative party has already stated that it will walk away from a Brexit deal if they don’t feel it provides enough benefit for the UK. The biggest concern is that if a proper deal isn’t reached, UK manufacturers would have to pay a tariff without access to the EU free market.

The reason that a good deal for the UK is so important during the Brexit transition is because the vast majority of the vehicles manufactured in the UK are sold to customers in Europe. It also works the other way, with 7 out of 10 cars sold in the UK manufactured in European plants.

Speaking about the UK’s reliance on European-manufactured vehicles and vice versa, ACEA secretary general, Erik Jonnaert had the following to say –

“Today, the automotive industries of the European Union and the United Kingdom are closely integrated; from the economic, regulatory and technical points of view. Any changes to this level of integration will most certainly have an adverse impact on automobile manufacturers with operations in the EU or the UK, as well as on the European economy in general.”

The major political parties may disagree on how best to combat that problem of remaining competitive after Brexit but they do agree that the best possible deal for the UK must be struck.