Executive View: Agency is the last thing OEMs need when BEVs are such a hard sell

Andy Goss, chairman of AM100 motor retailer Vertu Motors and a former car sales boss of Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche and Toyota, sends a warning to the new Labour Government that the tough targets for driving motorists into electric cars are a blunt instrument that unintentionally may speed the exit of some franchised dealer groups.

There can be little doubt that the new Labour government has experienced the shortest honeymoon period ever. They walked into government with an expectation that there were inevitably some real big issues to resolve, especially in the political arena.

Of that there was no doubt. However, their expectation of trouble ahead would’ve been tempered by the fact that the economy was in much better shape than of recent times with low inflation and interest rates about to fall.

Ironically, they seem to totally miss read the runes in terms of key environmental issues. Ed Miliband, in particular appears to followed an idealistic, and perhaps unrealistic, view of the environmental challenge with little consideration as to the practicality of trying to move forward initiatives in the so-called “climate crisis“. Clearly, the automotive industry has a keen interest in this area, particularly at a time when there is a substantial move from ICE vehicles to those with electric powertrains.

It appears to be the case that neither the previous government, nor the new incoming government quite realize the impact on the automotive industry of the desire to speed up the move towards the electrification of the car market.