Theresa May will be meeting with car industry executives in Birmingham as concerns surrounding a no-deal Brexit continue to grow.
The prime minister will use the summit to discuss low emissions technology and reassure executives that the UK will remain an attractive place to invest following Brexit.
Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturing and Traders, said in reference to Brexit: “This means creating the right conditions to encourage manufacturers to invest, innovate and sell competitively, and provide the right incentives and infrastructure to take the consumer with us.”
“Government must set out a long-term commitment, with a world-class package of tangible support that matches our world-class ambitions.”
May hopes to tackle and hopes to put “the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles”, whilst also calling “for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040”.
The summit in Birmingham will have the prime minister announce a £106 million funding boost for research and development in new batteries, green vehicles and low carbon technology.
Luxury carmaker Aston Martin has said it is not concerned about Brexit.
“We’ve done a lot of thinking about Brexit but it doesn’t materially impact our plans. We’ve considered it very deeply,” said Mark Wilson, the company’s chief financial officer.
BMW (ETR: BMW) has shown more concern. The group employs 8,000 people in the UK and said that it will need to know by the end of the summer more concrete plans surrounding Brexit.
Johan van Zyl, Toyota’s Europe president, said: “We have been here 25 years . . . Toyota (TYO: 7203) is a long-term investor, but if the business environment — not just for the UK but as a general statement — is not conducive for doing business, we will not invest.”