Britain Is Looking To Guard Its Auto Industry

If you haven’t been paying attention, the British automotive market has been slipping into the hands of foreigners. Jaguar Land Rover is owned by Tata, which is based in India. BMW owns Mini. And now Vauxhall might get gobbled up by Peugeot. Prime Minister Theresa May doesn’t seem to be happy about this latest development and what it might mean for the local economy. At least for now, she hasn’t gone on a Twitter rant about it.

General Motors isn’t loving its European brands, and is at least toying with the idea of ditching Vauxhall and Opel. In response, May reportedly is meeting with Peugeot CEO Carlos Taveres. Apparently quite a few people think this latest development, plus the Brexit issue, is spelling doom for British cars.

May’s looking to add safeguards, so Britain doesn’t lose car manufacturing jobs to France or elsewhere. Just what those would be is anyone’s guess. If they can help make Vauxhall relevant again, that would be a miracle.

Worldwide competition in the automotive market is turning up. GM is feeling the heat, along with others. Not only is it ditching Opel and Vauxhall, it’s winding down Holden in Australia.