Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western says reopening of car showrooms next week will be vitally important to the industry

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western says the reopening of car showrooms next week (June 1) will be vitally important to the industry.

It was Mr Western, who is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group and spent 24 years working in the industry before becoming an MP, who wrote to the Government last week to urge them to open car showrooms, as any continuation of the closure he argued “threatens the entire industry”.

His letter comes following devastating figures from the industry as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

In April, UK car sales fell by 97.3 per cent and an independent market outlook for 2020 downgraded previous expectations to just 1.68 million car registrations, which puts the sector on course to record its worst performance since 1992 - below the levels seen during the financial crisis and some 27 per cent lower than the 2.31 million new cars registered last year.

British car manufacturing delivers £18.6bn to the economy every year and supports over 800,000 jobs – of which 590,000 are on the retail side and 167,000 are in high-skilled manufacturing, with roughly 34 per cent of these are based in the West Midlands.

Last month, KPMG estimated that the West Midlands economy alone will shrink by 10.1 per cent due to loss of car production.

Speaking about the news, Mr Western said: “The automotive sector is hugely important to the local and national economy and needs more support.

"There was no logic for the Government to declare for estate agents and garden centres to be allowed to open but not car dealers.

"Every day counts to getting the industry back on its feet. The current closure of car showrooms is costing the taxpayer an estimated £61m per day.

“Car showrooms are critical to the industry's success. I’m pleased that the Government have met our calls to safely reopen showrooms to give the sector a chance to survive and thrive after this crisis.

“This is the first step of many that the Government must take to secure the recovery of our vital automotive sector. I will continue to speak out on behalf of the industry to ensure we protect jobs and the contribution it makes to our economy.”