Philippa Oldham, head of manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said in response to the 22% rise in UK car manufacturing reported recently by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders:
"The rise in UK car manufacturing figures is very welcome and shows that the UK can still be a manufacturing powerhouse. But whilst some industries like car and aerospace manufacturing are bucking the trend and seeing strong growth, recent figures show that UK manufacturing as a whole is still shrinking.”
She continued: "The success of UK car production should motivate Government to take urgent action to support manufacturing so that we can see other industries become UK success stories.
"Government needs to work with industry and other political parties to develop a detailed manufacturing and industrial strategy with cross party support. Industry needs this certainty and also needs greater access to capital investment in order to invest in new production plants, machinery and training."
IMechE
www.imeche.org
