UK Automotive industry in the slow lane?

[0iD]

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Article...to+succeed.htm

UK auto engineers are ‘complacent’ compared to their Indian counterparts and have lost ‘the fire in their belly’ needed to compete with the emerging giants of the global car industry, according to the British-born head of engineering at Tata Motors.

In an interview with The Engineer, Dr Clive Hickman – who led the project to develop the Tata Nano, the cheapest production vehicle in the world – lamented the declining work ethic in the UK industry since his early career at Rover two decades ago.

Have we lost the drive to succeed in the automotive field & is the Nano really the answer?

[Vimeous]

I'd suggest it has been difficult to be enthusiastic as an automotive engineer in the UK.
In fact I'd suggest it's plain depressing.

Vauxhall - Perminantly under threat of closure or replacement by Opel and now noone knows what GM will do.
Ford - More cutbacks, more plant closures no-doubt coming and Visteon's already bitten the dust.
Jaguar/Land Rover - Forward thinking ownership but job cuts hurt.
Nissan - Qashqai and new mini-SUV will be mainstays but where's the future if they only build niche models?
Toyota - New products are less distinctive than their predicessors and some have started to question their interior quality. Where do they do next with hybrids in Japan only.
Honda - Volumes are all over the place but there is limited hope coming.
TVR - Buried by a Russian.

I'd be optimistic if I were at Jaguar/Land Rover with great new products but there's the overriding spectre of government legislation and environmental concerns to face down.

In countries like India and China the rules are not as set-in-stone, you can play with designs and try new things. There are new markets. There is hope and optimism in abundance.


I do wonder how much the general malaise of the UK population, certainly towards motoring and those who legislate it, impact those who design and engineer our cars. Does my general feeling of helplessness in relation to politics and its impact on my life mirror the nation?

[dave87]

Yes and No.


Yes we've lost the will to compete against the likes of Germany with regard to quality of finish and the Japanese with regards to reliability, but no, I don't think the Tata Nano is the answer.


Nasty little rotboxes are only good if you want the latest plate. I don't give two hoots about what plate is on the car - if it bothers me that much I'll find a private plate.

How much was the Tata Nano going to cost new? 5k? How much car can you buy second hand these days for that, let alone the discounts available on newer cars (prefacelift pre-reg fiestas anyone?) and it suddenly makes no sense.

Still, I'm sure they'll sell some until the crash test reports come out....

[Zak33]

http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Article...to+succeed.htm

Have we lost the drive to succeed in the automotive field & is the Nano really the answer?

don't get me started....

[kalniel]

We make great vans.

[Shad]

Low volume sports car market is thriving

[Konan555]

Did I see 'work ethic' and Rover in the same quote there?