British Carmakers Overtaken On Continent, Race for Euro Funds

Only two UK-based car manufacturers have applied for European financial support, leading the Financial Times to conclude that the British automotive sector is being slow in applying. According to FT, cabinet ministers don’t want UK-based companies to miss out on European Investment Bank funding which is said to be unlikely to exceed 7 billion euros (£6.5 billion), significantly less than the 40 billion euros the industry had previously sought. This is in addition the government’s £2.5 billion automotive support package, which includes £1.3 billion of guarantees to back loans from the European Investment Bank and £1 billion of guarantees for other loans.

According to the FT, Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover have both applied for EIB financing to support research and development work. Jaguar said it was waiting for Wednesday’s meeting to get details of the non-EIB guarantees. Neither General Motors nor Ford Motor had yet applied for EIB-backed loans in the UK, the companies said.