What can British Chancellor Alistair Darling do to help ease the recession?
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Published: April 21, 2009
Putting aside all other considerations, and in recognition of just how many people depend on the motor trade, Kahn News.com has come up with some suggestions for Alistair Darling.
But we also want to know what you think about the current state of the car industry – and what could or should be done about it. Let us know your views, opinions and comments via e-mail: <a href="mailto:kahn@kahndesign.com">kahn@kahndesign.com</a>
Introduce a scrappage scheme
Incentivise new car sales by offering a substantial, government-financed trade-in discount for old, dirty out of date cars. The figure generally discussed is £2,000 – and similar schemes in Europe, most notably Germany, have proved highly successful.
Obviously terms and conditions must apply – it’s no good having people hoover up old bangers to get £2,000 off. Many good old cars will go to an early death. And what happens once the scheme is over? But in short to medium term this could make a real difference.
Money and/or tax cuts for British carmakers
It may be common pub banter to suggest there is no ‘British’ car industry anymore. But tens of thousands are employed building cars in this industry, for companies as diverse as Mini, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Lotus, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and McLaren.
The Government needs to do whatever it takes to keep this going. Not just for the people employed in the manufacturing plants, but also those that work in the huge network of parts suppliers and other resources supporting the process. Cash injections or tax cuts for carmakers could ensure that these survive.
Support innovative British companies
There’s been plenty of talk in the last week of the need for the UK to lead the world in electric car innovation. But let’s see some support for other genuine innovators.
Gordon Murray, for example; a continuous source of motoring revolution from Formula 1 to the supercar, his 240 mph McLaren F1 remains the benchmark.
And right now Murray is taking on populist mass transformation with the T25 City Car. High efficiency, cool looks, low cost and easy assembly are the key features – but it still needs financial backing.
The Government wants British Industry to lead the world? The T25 looks like a good starting point.
At Kahn <a href="http://www.news.com">www.news.com</a> we believe British industry has a great deal to be proud of and it is right that we celebrate it.
A Kahn Design is committed to fostering and developing British brands and recognising the truly remarkable achievements in the past.
While acutely commercial, A Kahn Design has retained its values, which date back to its origins, and has treated its employees and customers with respect. A success at home and abroad, it goes from strength to strength, constantly stretching itself to achieve more. Its leaders are inspiring and employees are dedicated. It is an example of what the UK can achieve.
The Cosworth 300 Sport is just the beginning.
Again, if the Government really wants us to lead the world – A Kahn Design can indeed place the British Car industry back where it belongs.
Investigate fuel companies for profiteering
Petrol and diesel prices have been driven upwards by the increased cost of each barrel of oil. Filling stations protest that it’s government taxation adding outrageous extra pence to every litre. Then the fuel companies get to the end of their financial years, and announce, not just record profits, but billions and squillions in extra cash.
You don’t even have to be a car enthusiast for this to make you really quite astonishingly angry. Tell you what, Darling; you want to save the car industry? How about investigating oil and fuel companies for profiteering? That’s a whole hell off a lot of money they’re making – and to whose benefit?
Scrap VED and take money from fuel instead
Just to prove we’re not just complaining about the fuel companies because we’re trying to avoid paying our due at the pumps, here’s a suggestion for an alternative form of taxation. Scrap vehicle Excise Duty – the road tax you pay at the post office every year – and take all government cash from fuel.
This would certainly see a hike at the pumps – no doubt. But it would also be much fairer, not to mention a more realistic way of bringing environmental offenders to account. Less-green cars require more fuel – but only when they’re driven. Green cars that do loads of miles are still environmentally damaging. Sort it out.
See sense on diesel duty
On the other hand, the UK is unique in Europe, in having limited refining capacity for diesel. With the surge in diesel car sales, this means demand for the fuel is stretched –making it more expensive than in Europe. This situation is not helped by the Government’s odd policy that sees higher rates of fuel duty on diesel.
It’s because the Government says diesel is dirty. But, all these new green eco cars from manufacturers – they’re powered by diesel – cars such as the Ford Focus Econetic, SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive, Volkswagen, Golf Blue motion.
Carmakers say diesel is green, the government says it’s not……..who do you believe?
Increase access to finance for car buyers
Car dealers say that, even if they can tempt people into buying that new car, the deal often fails at the final hurdle. Getting the cash to complete the transaction – banks and finance houses have tightened their lending criteria so much, it’s really hard for a surprising number of car buyers to get credit.
To help this, Darling could look into ways of forcing the banks to ease their lending criteria. We seem to have shifted from one extreme to the other. Now, financiers are being ultra-cautious – overly so, say car dealers, which is costing them sales. Steps to ease these restrictions again would really help car sales.
Tax aircraft fuel
Controversial one and it won’t happen……But, imagine the revenue that would be raised if aircraft fuel was taxed at the same rate as pump fuel? At the moment, it’s nowhere near the same level, which means aircraft fuel is really cheap. And pump fuel, exorbitant. If Darling is serious about going green, he could change this.
Some of the extra funds could be pumped into lowering pump fuel prices, or, easing new car finance. Yes, it would mean plane tickets became more expensive. But, if consumers are saving money on motoring, wouldn’t that balance things up?
Clarify situation so retailers know exactly what’s happening
Last November the government suddenly announced VAT would be cut from 17.5 percent to 15.0 percent. The biggest boost provided would be ‘big ticket’ items, such as cars. These would see the biggest price reductions – of several thousands in some cases. Great!
Now, it’s meant to be going up again in November – but to what? 17.5 percent? 18.5 percent? Clarification is needed NOW. Or else, another mini car industry recession could be created when, overnight, car prices rocket back up again.
Tell Bernie to keep the British GP
Finally, to make its products seem exciting, the car industry needs motorsport. ‘Race it on Sunday, sell it on Monday’ is a cliché with proven pedigree. But the UK’s circuits are dying. We’ve just lost Vauxhall from next year’s British Touring Car Championship – SEAT has already gone, will there be another victim?
Putting aside all other considerations, and in recognition of just how many people depend on the motor trade, Kahn News.com has come up with some suggestions for Alistair Darling.
-
But we also want to know what you think about the current state of the car industry – and what could or should be done about it. Let us know your views, opinions and comments via e-mail: kahn@kahndesign.com
-
Introduce a scrappage scheme.
-
Incentivise new car sales by offering a substantial, government-financed trade-in discount for old, dirty out of date cars. The figure generally discussed is £2,000 – and similar schemes in Europe, most notably Germany, have proved highly successful.
Obviously terms and conditions must apply – it’s no good having people hoover up old bangers to get £2,000 off. Many good old cars will go to an early death. And what happens once the scheme is over? But in short to medium term this could make a real difference.
-
Money and/or tax cuts for British carmakers
It may be common pub banter to suggest there is no ‘British’ car industry anymore. But tens of thousands are employed building cars in this industry, for companies as diverse as Mini, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Lotus, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and McLaren.
The Government needs to do whatever it takes to keep this going. Not just for the people employed in the manufacturing plants, but also those that work in the huge network of parts suppliers and other resources supporting the process. Cash injections or tax cuts for carmakers could ensure that these survive.
-
Support innovative British companies
There’s been plenty of talk in the last week of the need for the UK to lead the world in electric car innovation. But let’s see some support for other genuine innovators.
Gordon Murray, for example; a continuous source of motoring revolution from Formula 1 to the supercar, his 240 mph McLaren F1 remains the benchmark.
And right now Murray is taking on populist mass transformation with the T25 City Car. High efficiency, cool looks, low cost and easy assembly are the key features – but it still needs financial backing.
-
The Government wants British Industry to lead the world? The T25 looks like a good starting point.
-
At Kahn Kahn News we believe British industry has a great deal to be proud of and it is right that we celebrate it.
-
A Kahn Design is committed to fostering and developing British brands and recognising the truly remarkable achievements in the past.
While acutely commercial, A Kahn Design has retained its values, which date back to its origins, and has treated its employees and customers with respect. A success at home and abroad, it goes from strength to strength, constantly stretching itself to achieve more. Its leaders are inspiring and employees are dedicated. It is an example of what the UK can achieve.
-
The Cosworth 300 Sport is just the beginning.
Again, if the Government really wants us to lead the world – A Kahn Design can indeed place the British Car industry back where it belongs.
-
Investigate fuel companies for profiteering
Petrol and diesel prices have been driven upwards by the increased cost of each barrel of oil. Filling stations protest that it’s government taxation adding outrageous extra pence to every litre. Then the fuel companies get to the end of their financial years, and announce, not just record profits, but billions and squillions in extra cash.
You don’t even have to be a car enthusiast for this to make you really quite astonishingly angry. Tell you what, Darling; you want to save the car industry? How about investigating oil and fuel companies for profiteering? That’s a whole hell off a lot of money they’re making – and to whose benefit?
-
Scrap VED and take money from fuel instead
Just to prove we’re not just complaining about the fuel companies because we’re trying to avoid paying our due at the pumps, here’s a suggestion for an alternative form of taxation. Scrap vehicle Excise Duty – the road tax you pay at the post office every year – and take all government cash from fuel.
This would certainly see a hike at the pumps – no doubt. But it would also be much fairer, not to mention a more realistic way of bringing environmental offenders to account. Less-green cars require more fuel – but only when they’re driven. Green cars that do loads of miles are still environmentally damaging. Sort it out.
-
See sense on diesel duty
On the other hand, the UK is unique in Europe, in having limited refining capacity for diesel. With the surge in diesel car sales, this means demand for the fuel is stretched –making it more expensive than in Europe. This situation is not helped by the Government’s odd policy that sees higher rates of fuel duty on diesel.
It’s because the Government says diesel is dirty. But, all these new green eco cars from manufacturers – they’re powered by diesel – cars such as the Ford Focus Econetic, SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive, Volkswagen, Golf Blue motion.
Carmakers say diesel is green, the government says it’s not……..who do you believe?
-
Increase access to finance for car buyers
Car dealers say that, even if they can tempt people into buying that new car, the deal often fails at the final hurdle. Getting the cash to complete the transaction – banks and finance houses have tightened their lending criteria so much, it’s really hard for a surprising number of car buyers to get credit.
To help this, Darling could look into ways of forcing the banks to ease their lending criteria. We seem to have shifted from one extreme to the other. Now, financiers are being ultra-cautious – overly so, say car dealers, which is costing them sales. Steps to ease these restrictions again would really help car sales.
-
Tax aircraft fuel
Controversial one and it won’t happen……But, imagine the revenue that would be raised if aircraft fuel was taxed at the same rate as pump fuel? At the moment, it’s nowhere near the same level, which means aircraft fuel is really cheap. And pump fuel, exorbitant. If Darling is serious about going green, he could change this.
Some of the extra funds could be pumped into lowering pump fuel prices, or, easing new car finance. Yes, it would mean plane tickets became more expensive. But, if consumers are saving money on motoring, wouldn’t that balance things up?
-
Clarify situation so retailers know exactly what’s happening
Last November the government suddenly announced VAT would be cut from 17.5 percent to 15.0 percent. The biggest boost provided would be ‘big ticket’ items, such as cars. These would see the biggest price reductions – of several thousands in some cases. Great!
Now, it’s meant to be going up again in November – but to what? 17.5 percent? 18.5 percent? Clarification is needed NOW. Or else, another mini car industry recession could be created when, overnight, car prices rocket back up again.
-
Tell Bernie to keep the British GP
Finally, to make its products seem exciting, the car industry needs motorsport. ‘Race it on Sunday, sell it on Monday’ is a cliché with proven pedigree. But the UK’s circuits are dying. We’ve just lost Vauxhall from next year’s British Touring Car Championship – SEAT has already gone, will there be another victim?
Tagged with: Driving
