MIRA boss: UK car industry is ‘up for the fight’ to survive

The managing director of leading R&D firm Horiba MIRA has urged optimism amid a wave of challenges for the UK’s automotive industry, highlighting its “second-to-none” talent pool. The past year has brought with it a marked rise in cynicism regarding the industry’s prospects, with the protracted collapse of battery start-up Britishvolt and a wave of 1300 job cuts at Ford of Britain both making national headlines. Britshvolt went into administration owing £160 million to its creditors, having been pledged a £100m grant from the government. It has been widely reported that this grant was never given to Britishvolt because it required the start-up to hit construction milestones that it failed to meet amid its battle to find a financier. Ford, on the other hand, lost $2.0 billion (£1.6bn) in 2022, prompting a wide-reaching cost review programme. Ford of Europe boss Martin Sander has said the firm is pursuing a “leaner and more cost-competitive structure” amid its transition to EVs – which bring reduced mechanical complexity and thus fewer engineering demands. And Nissan chief financial officer Ashwani Gupta has warned that the UK is now “more challenging” as an automotive manufacturing hub, owing to a reduction in suppliers. In March, Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors reportedly put pressure on the government for £500m in funding to build a battery plant in the UK, giving ministers “weeks” to make a decision. Yet amid the warnings of industrial decline, Declan Allen, an engineer with more than 30 years’ experience and more than a decade at Horiba MIRA, has claimed the future may be brighter than many believe. Speaking exclusively to Autocar, he said: “The technology trend has meant there’s lots of new entrants trying to get involved, because clearly the [established] manufacturers have got a big challenge. They've got to make today's product and in parallel make tomorrow's. “So what that presents is a chance for new entrants to move quickly. They've got no baggage, they can pick and choose what they do; they're typically bringing good innovation. And really, what we're seeing is that the combination of that global innovation [plus] our heritage of engineering and testing in the Midlands – primarily at MIRA – is a great combination, because the innovators don't have that full vehicle knowledge.” Addressing the challenges currently facing the UK automotive industry, Allen said: “Yes, there's lots of concerns about cost-effectiveness long term and energy plans in the UK, but actually getting products to market quickly is the most important thing – and if we can accelerate their development and give them a path to production in the UK. Clearly, there's a lot of support needed to do that. “But we stand a chance. We're up for the fight. We're seeing a great trend and [the companies are] all here for the same reason. They're here for the engineering heritage, the full vehicle knowledge and the access to talent. “The talent in the UK is second to none. We've certainly got major global competition, but I think really the strength and depth and quality of engineering and technical skills in the UK is right up there globally. So I'm optimistic: we produce something like 80,000 graduates within a 100-mile radius in the Midlands. That's amazing.” Allen’s comments come amid a wave of pessimism from prominent industry figures. Mike Hawes, chief executive of lobby organisation the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), recently warned that government inaction is making the UK an undesirable location for investment. Andy Palmer, former Aston Martin CEO and Nissan COO before that, is firmer. He recently told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the collapse of UK automotive is “not only possible, it’s probable”. “You're into a period of either you compete – and enter into something like the British [Inflation Reduction Act] – or you manage the decline of the British industry,” said Palmer. Using hydrogen as an example for the UK’s shortfall in government investment, Allen said: “The French government is investing €30bn (£26.4bn) in nitrogen, which is three or four times more than Germany announced [€7bn or £6.2bn]. We say, well, there's a path towards £400m or £500m. So we're already orders of magnitude lower than Europe.” Allen added that “if we're serious about automotive, we’ve got to up our game in terms of investment” and that “we really need help with the big things that make a difference, which is infrastructure, energy infrastructure and a path to stability”. Energy infrastructure is a particular concern for the UK’s manufacturers. A survey published by the SMMT in June 2022 found that car makers’ bills had increased by 50% over the previous year – due in part to a pause in purchasing Russian gas following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The survey also noted that UK-based manufacturers spend £50m more on energy annually than their counterparts in the EU. Unable to rely on government support alone, Allen also called for more collaboration across the industry, saying: “We need to be far more pragmatic on how we do this. And I think it's just a scaled version of MIRA in that it only works as a community; it doesn't work individually for anybody. “So it's by bringing the manufacturers together and the new developers together with the government, industry partners like ourselves and saying: ‘Look, how are we going to map our way through this? Where are the common areas where we can invest and share?’. “So I think for us to be successful, we have to be collaborating around those bigger investments and share the responsibility of making them work, together.” What's happening at MIRA? At the heart of Horiba MIRA's business lies the Technology Park in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, a campus for vehicle research, development, testing and homologation. It currently houses more than 40 tenants, from Jaguar Land Rover to Polestar, REE and LEVC, which have access to 40 test facilities and more than 100km of roads. MIRA last year completed a £100m investment in the new Assured CAV hub for the development of driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles.. Assured CAV offers manufacturers a safe, fully connected environment in which they can test automation and driverless technologies to their limits, in complex scenarios including co-operative merging and platooning of cars on motorways to automated valet parking.