You are here: Home > Marketing UK Advanced Engineering > World-class in Automotive

World-class in Automotive

The UK's automotive sector is diverse, vibrant and world-class. With over 5,000 companies, it employs around 820,000 people.

The sector is worth over £4.5 billion and the UK is one of Europe's top five automotive manufacturing countries.

Contributing around £9.8 billion to the UK economy, automotive manufacturing accounts for over 11 per cent of the UK's total exports and attracts significant foreign investment. What's more, the UK's highly sophisticated retail and service/maintenance sector generates another £22 billion for the economy each year.

More than 40 companies manufacture vehicles in the UK. They range from global volume car makers, van, truck and bus builders, to specialist niche players. A dynamic supply chain includes many of the world's major Tier 1 component manufacturers, technology providers, and design and engineering consultancies.

With six of the world's top ten vehicle makers and 19 of the top 20 auto parts makers having a UK manufacturing presence, the country is a global centre of excellence. The Nissan and Toyota plants in Sunderland and Derbyshire are two of the most productive in Europe.

It's estimated that the sector exports 60 per cent of its products - twice the national average. The new BMW MINI is exported to over 80 countries, and Nissan's Sunderland plant recently began shipping one of its models back to Japan for the first time in over a decade.

Keeping ahead

Innovation drives the UK automotive sector, with significant levels of turnover invested in R&D. Examples include:

ITM Power has developed a low-cost electroloyser that converts renewable energy or off-peak electricity into hydrogen used to fuel a car.

Johnson Matthey is the world's largest manufacturer of catalytic converters.

Jaguar, unlike other manufacturers, uses welded aluminium space frames and aircraft-style construction techniques. As a result, its XJ6 weighs 300kg less than its luxury competitors.

The Caparo T1, the world's fastest track-based street car, was recently manufactured in the UK in carbon composite.

Ford's UK engine manufacturing plant in Dagenham (powered by renewable wind energy) is producing emission-reducing 1.6-litre turbo diesel engines.

Motorsport

Motorsport is a key area of the UK sector and contributes over £5 billion each year to the country's economy. UK motorsport has a dominant role in managing and serving Formula 1 and other international racing series. There's a wealth of world-class design, precision and high-performance engineering companies, and a comprehensive range of leading service firms in areas such as event management, marketing, PR and sponsorship.

Six out of ten Formula 1 teams - Renaut, Williams, McLaren, Red Bull Racing, Force India and the newly formed Brawn GP are based in the UK.

The UK's "Motorsport Valley", employs over 2,500 world-class engineers. Over 15 UK universities offer motorsport engineering and management degrees, while more than five offer post-graduate courses.

The UK construction equipment sector

The UK construction equipment industry is worth an estimated £8.5 billion to the British economy. It employs over 50,000 people in the UK. Many UK manufacturers export over 80% of their production to more than 200 countries. UK companies are at the forefront of advanced technology and production and manufacture products of proven reliability to high quality standards with a full after sales service.

Products include ……

OEM products, especially earthmovers - suppliers such as JCB, Caterpillar, Komatsu and smaller specialist companies.
Drilling and tunnelling - including foundation engineering.
Road construction - including preparation, storage and handling.
Concrete equipment.
Crushers and screens - recycling and the environment.
Component supplies - axles, transmissions, engines.
Retro-fit products including safety, security and monitoring equipment.
Light equipment such as mobile lighting.
Market research companies - with global reputations.
University research and testing grounds - demonstrate the back up for the product and at the cutting edge of research for global companies on construction equipment.

Structure of the UK Industry and how it works

Many companies are long established - some from nineteenth century, many since the 1930s - and have a thorough understanding of their very reliable products.
Multinationals with large manufacturing facilities in the UK are JCB, Caterpillar, Terex and Komatsu. Global manufacturing expanded dramatically at the beginning of the 21st Century
Large component suppliers include Perkins Engines, Cummins etc.
Commitment of OEMs to the UK supplier base, supplier chains by helping with improved manufacturing programmes.
Small niche players with unique and innovative products, offer technical expertise in providing the know-how and equipment to solve particular construction problems.

UK Strengths include:

Innovative products - drive by wire, advanced electronic systems etc.
Advanced materials - plastics, metallurgy, stress testing, paints etc.
Advanced engineering - High technology manufacturing processes.
Advanced R & D capabilities - working with universities and testing institutions.
Green products - delivering low carbon, reduced emissions, hybrid products under development, green factories and zero to landfill.
At the heart of the global market place - the UK is ideally placed to deliver to world markets, working with specialist freight companies to deliver oversized equipment.
Reputation and Experience - UK manufacturers hold an enviable reputation for quality and service in many export markets.
After sales service - OEM manufacturers provide full in market after sales service and parts. Local employment generated from training indigenous workers as service engineers.
World class components - the UK provides high quality components for both UK manufacturers and the export market. We are leading players in transmissions, engines, drivelines, hydraulics and electronic systems. UK manufacturers are highly flexible, developing products to meet the customers’ specifications as well as off the shelf solutions.

UK Manufactured products are used in many applications and sectors - including:

Earthmoving
Ground foundation & Piling
Roadbuilding
Civil Engineering
Ports
Airports
Railways
Asphalt and cement processing
Lifting & Access
Drainage & Irrigation
Utilities
Rental
Mining & Quarrying
Recycling / remanufacture
Industrial
Agriculture
Demolition
Forestry
Mineral, oil and gas extraction and processing
Tunnelling
Major civils support
Defence

The Construction Equipment Association (CEA) http://www.coneq.org.uk is the trade association that represents the UK construction equipment sector - and is recognised by HM Government as the voice of our industry. We are represented in Brussels and hold the presidency of the Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE) - http://www.cece-eu.org - and our influence is felt worldwide through our technical and international trade work and contacts with counterpart organisations.