NFDA director Sue Robinson said it is “vital that UK retail motor industry is recognised by the Government alongside manufacturers in the post Brexit negotiations” following a meeting with MPs at the House of Commons.

Representatives from seven top AM100 dealer groups attended yesterday’s meeting which was attended by members of the House of Lords, shadow ministers and MPs.

The meeting came two months after UK manufacturer bosses met with Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, and DFT and BEIS ministers at an SMMT round table discussion to discuss their concerns following the vote to leave the EU.

In a statement issued after yesterday’s meeting the NFDA pointed out that of the 800,000 people employed by the UK automotive industry, 504,000 work in the retail sector.

Robinson said: “The key contribution of the retail motor sector to the UK economy was the theme of the dinner held yesterday at the House of Commons.

“With over 500,000 people employed in the sector and a combined turnover of £61.3bn across the top 200 franchised dealers, it is vital that UK retail motor industry is recognised by the Government alongside manufacturers in the post Brexit negotiations.”

The NFDA did not reveal detail about the discussions at yesterday’s meeting which was attended by Arnold Clark chief executive Eddie Hawthorne; Cambria Automobiles chief executive Mark Lavery; Perrys Motor Sales chairman, Ken Savage; Lookers chief executive, Andy Bruce; Trident Honda chief executive, Richard Roberts; Marshall Motor Holdings chief executive, Daksh Gupta; and Simon Caffyn, chief executive of Caffyns.

But Robinson said: “The dinner provided an excellent basis for discussion with the Government.

“We have outlined once again the crucial role that the retail automotive sector plays within the UK economy and the representation that our sector requires during Brexit negotiations and in Government policy.

“We want to ensure that we will be involved in future discussions and the retail side of the UK automotive industry is supported and represented at the appropriate levels.

"This is another good step in the NFDA’s continued engagement with Government and Parliamentarians."

The full list of Lords, MPs and shadow ministers that attended this week’s NFDA meeting were: Richard Burden MP, sponsor and Shadow Minister (Transport); Lord Rosser, Shadow Spokesperson (Transport); Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury, Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee); Kate Green OBE MP (Labour), European Scrutiny Committee; Philip Davies MP (Conservative), Vice Chair, Retail; Robert Flello MP (Labour), Transport Committee; and Daniel Zeichner MP (Labour), Shadow Minister (Transport) and Vice Chair, UK-EU Relations.

December’s SMMT roundtable with government ministers was attended by David Dabvis saw David Davis join in a round table discussion alongside government colleagues John Hayes, Minster of State, Department for Transport and Nick Hurd, Minister of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.