LONDON, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) trade measures threaten a projected recovery in British vehicle production next year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warned Thursday.
An independent industry outlook forecasts that annual vehicle production will decline this year before rising to 752,000 units in 2027 as new models, mostly electric vehicles (EVs), enter production, the SMMT said.
The SMMT identified three major threats to the industry's competitiveness, including two related to Britain's trading relationship with the EU.
The European Commission's "Made in EU" proposals could, in their current form, effectively exclude British-built vehicles from the EU, their largest export market, it said.
The SMMT also warned that tougher rules of origin taking effect in 2027 under the Trade Cooperation Agreement could result in tariffs totaling 1.4 billion pounds (about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars) annually on two-way EV trade.
Exports accounted for more than three-quarters of British vehicle production in September, with the EU receiving 57.5 percent of those exports, SMMT data showed.
The SMMT said both measures would damage the automotive industry on both sides and called the forthcoming EU-UK Summit "a vital opportunity to agree pragmatic solutions and safeguard an 80-billion-euro (about 90 billion dollars) trading relationship."
The society also warned that what it described as unrealistic domestic EV sales targets was putting manufacturers under acute pressure, eroding profitability, diverting resources and undermining the attractiveness of the UK as a place to invest. ■