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Government lack of clarity on emissions and taxation scaring off buyers says JLR boss Hicks

Government lack of clarity on emissions and taxation is scaring off car buyers said Jaguar Land Rover boss Jeremy Hicks at the CDX motor trade expo in Manchester
Jeremy Hicks at the CDX expo

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22 May 2018

JEREMY Hicks delivered a blistering indictment of the Government: the managing director of Jaguar Land Rover accused the government of scaring off car buyers and damaging the motor industry with its lack of clarity on vehicle emissions and car taxation policy.

Talking to delegates at the motor trade expo CDX,  Hicks said government’s failure to make its position clear was causing consumers to ‘hold off’ their next car purchase and directly responsible for falling car sales.

“Make it clear – really, really clear,” Hicks demanded

he managing director of Jaguar Land Rover in the UK has accused the government of scaring off car buyers and damaging the motor industry with its lack of clarity on vehicle emissions and car taxation policy.

Addressing delegates at CDX – the UK’s largest motor trade expo – Jeremy Hicks said the government’s failure to make its position clear was causing consumers to ‘hold off’ their next car purchase and directly responsible for falling car sales.

“Make it clear – really, really clear,” Hicks demanded of the Government.

“This confusion doesn’t do any of us who are involved in the industry any good,” he added.

“There’s so much confusion now, frankly created by government. Is it OK to buy an internal combustion engine car any more? And that has caused an untold amount of ‘hold-off’.”

He added that JLR had surveyed consumers and discovered around half did not know what EU standards were and that a third did not understand the differences of CO2 impact between a petrol and diesel engine.

He added: “And then you have the taxation policy, where the government has an unclear policy that basically says ‘don’t go out and buy one’.”

Mr Hicks was speaking as part of an expert panel on the future of the automotive industry at CDX, currently taking place in Manchester.

He was joined on the panel by Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders), Nigel McMinn, chief operating officer of Lookers Group and Richard Jones, Managing Director of Black Horse motor finance.

Mr Hawes supported Mr Hicks in calling for more clarity, stating: “For me, one of the main obstacles to a booming market has been that lack of clarity around diesel and the future of diesel.

“Yes, diesel has a role in the near, medium, potentially long term future of mobility. The issues around air quality do need to be addressed but it is not the sole responsibility of the road transport and automotive industry to solve the problems which originate in a much wider variety (of industries).”

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Matt Morton

Matt Morton

Matt Morton is an automotive content writer for Business Car Manager

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