Britain’s Car Industry: Policies, Positioning, and Perspectives

Abstract

The British car industry is distinguished by high levels of foreign ownership, an export-oriented production sector, and an import-oriented domestic market. It faces two major challenges: the struggle to achieve sustainability and looming Brexit. A new industrial strategy for Britain has also identified new forms of automobility, exploiting digital technologies and the potentials for autonomous and connected engine technologies, as key issues for national industrial strategy. This chapter explores these facets of the industry in the context of the spatial, technological and policy positioning of the sector.