The biggest challenge?

Every year I take part in a survey of motoring journalists conducted by polling organisation MORI. It asks my opinion on certain brands, their press office operations and other automotive topics generally. One of the questions is always about the biggest challenges facing the industry over the next few years. At the moment there’s only really one answer – over-capacity. In short, there are simply too many factories in Europe for the number of vehicles that people are buying. Ford’s recent announcement about the closure of Southampton’s Transit plant, coupled with the loss of a Dagenham pressing site, is bad news for Britain. What of the UK's other sites?  MINI and Jaguar Land Rover will be fine as they’re not made anywhere else and all three brands are booming. Honda is struggling for sales with its limited product line-up, but Swindon is its European hub so should be safe. Nissan’s commitment to Sunderland and Toyota’s to Burnaston seem solid. But you’ve got to wonder about the long-term future of places like IBC in Luton, which makes Vauxhall vans. And is GM’s Ellesmere Port site safe beyond the next generation products that it’s already committed to build? Time will tell, but more factories across the continent are going to close.