Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, gave a speech at the International Automotive Summit in London today (photo by Tianxing Bai)

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today issued a plea to the UK’s next prime minister to secure a favourable Brexit deal as his number one priority on taking office. The call came as the trade body published a new report highlighting the importance of automotive trade to the UK economy and the high stakes of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. SMMT’s 2019 UK Automotive Trade Report calculates that delays to production caused by friction at the border could add up to £50,000 a minute for the sector.

Leaving the EU without a deal would trigger the most seismic shift in trading conditions ever experienced by the auto industry, with billions of pounds of tariffs threatening to impact consumer choice and affordability. The end to borderless trade could bring crippling disruptions to the industry’s just-in-time operating model.

Addressing an audience of business leaders and government officials at the industry’s annual International Automotive Summit in London today, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “Automotive matters to UK trade and its economy, and this report shows that, if the right choices are made, a bright future is possible. However, ‘no deal’ remains the clear and present danger. We are already seeing the consequences of uncertainty, the fear of no deal. The next PM’s first job in office must be to secure a deal that maintains frictionless trade because, for our industry, ‘no deal’ is not an option and we don’t have the luxury of time.”

The auto industry is the UK’s single biggest exporter of goods, trading with some 160 countries worldwide, and accounting for more than 14 percent of total exports. (Tianxing Bai)