Thursday 27th May 2004

Ford Won't Make Cars in the UK

Cheaper to do it elsewhere says top man

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Roger Putnam, Ford of Britain's chairman, has ruled out a return to building blue-oval badged cars in the UK three years after the company abandoned its last car-producing operation at Dagenham.

He claimed it was impossible to compete with low-cost production areas when producing high-volume products and Ford would concentrate on producing Premier Automotive Group cars and building engines.

Putnam uttered: "Unless you are a Japanese sub assembler you cannot get the critical mass or cost benefits or compete with markets which are moving ever eastwards, including eastern Europe .

"To try and compete with the low-cost territories by starting again in the UK would be impossible. I think it is a fact of life that has been coming for a while. It does not help to have an endlessly volatile exchange rate which makes the business on a global basis so unpredictable. "

He also pointed to the problem of training and attracting skilled people into the manufacturing sector. Putnam added: "We have never been on the cutting edge of efficiency and flexibility although our Jaguar Halewood and Transit Southampton plants show what can be achieved ."

[B10]

One of many who has mentioned the Euro. I fwe want to be only a nation of shopkeepers importing product then don't join the Euro. I we want to be a manufacturer then join. And before the cynics comment we still have a successfulalbeit smaller manufacturing base despite successive governments who dismiss / don't understand industry.

[Davel]

Yes but are the future of the Jaguar and Transit plants secure, or will they follow later?

[veewhy]

This just underlines the point that Big Business now runs the Planet, Governments are now just glorified rubber-stampers for these captains of industry. The only things political leaders do these days is create wars and ever more draconian laws to subjugate its people. The whole sorry state will all end in tears. I remember the chairman of GM a few years ago saying that 'unless the UK adopted the euro, they would close the Vauxhall car plant'.

[ATG]

This isn't a case of Big Business running the planet, this is a case of British car manufacturers being uncompetitive. May be good reasons for that that aren't anybody's "fault", e.g. UK wage base is too high to support a low added-value activity like assembling cars. What could a government do to stop this?

[cortinaman]

tbh it was pretty obvious when they stopped building cars at dagenham and switched to building engines there.

[sgt^roc]

cortinaman said:

tbh it was pretty obvious when they stopped building cars at dagenham and switched to building engines there.

They just wan to buld car as cheaply as possible, it shows my m8's Focus RS is always in the shop

[Pistol Pete]

said:

He also pointed to the problem of training and attracting skilled people into the manufacturing sector.

Something to do with everyone having to go to university now, and not learning a trade?

Pete

>> Edited by Pistol Pete on Monday 31st May 18:03