Currently reading: Autocar confidential: BMW's Brexit warning, Mercedes' Covid cash flow and more
Our reporters empty their notebooks to round up a week in gossip from across the automotive industry

In this week's round-up of automotive gossip, BMW explains how Brexit could hit European car makers and suppliers, Mercedes shrugs off Covid and more.

Brexit bills 

BMW's chief financial officer reckons the UK’s decision to leave the EU could cost European car makers and suppliers “€10-11 billion” (£9.1-10bn) – a figure echoed by Europe’s motor industry body, ACEA. “We need tariff-free trade,” BMW’s Nicolas Peter told journalists last Thursday. “And even then, it needs to be seamless. The administrative processing at customs needs to be efficient.” The company has invested tens of millions of euros this year on Brexit preparations, but clarity is still not forthcoming.

Merc's Covid-proof S-Class

Despite the industry-wide delays to model launches caused by the pandemic, Mercedes boss Ola Källenius said the recent S-Class launch happened exactly when planned. “We had the worst sales quarter since World War II but we were cash-flow positive,” he said. “We have continued to invest in high-tech products. The S-Class launch date was set long before Covid – and we’ve stuck to it. Technologically advanced projects such as the S-Class have not been affected.”

3 Mercedes benz s class front

Into the Matrix

Milton Keynes-based Envisics claims its holographic, augmented reality head-up displays will help re-engage people in the process of driving with modern technology. “With these more enhanced semi-autonomous systems, there’s a much greater level of disengagement from the drivers,” said Envisics CEO Jamieson Christmas, claiming its multi-distance perspective head-up displays can mitigate that. The company just secured a £39 million funding round with several automotive tie-ups.

2 Envisics

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Hermeticist 21 October 2020

As a mercedes owner I was a

As a mercedes owner I was a touch disturbed by: "Mercedes boss Ola Källenius said the recent S-Class launch happened exactly when planned. “We had the worst sales quarter since World War II..." Surely, as Mercedes had a rather nasty habit of using concentration camp slave labour and pumping out thousand of trucks and Gelandwagens for Nazi soldiers, he is only talking about private cars, and not the ones delivered to Nazi officials?

The EU, as everyone seems to like talking about on hear, was designed, in part, to stop this happening again. As the entire world turns once again to being right-wing and small-minded, we need to get closer and not more divided. All leaders who like to feather their own nests, rather than make the world a better place for our children, thrive on a diet of divide and conquer. Hitler was the richest man in Europe during the second international unpleasantness and the leaders now are grubbing around for every penny to emulate him... *cough* Boris and salary *cough* Trump and his tax bill...

superstevie 20 October 2020

It isn't just about selling

It isn't just about selling their cars. It is also about building them. They have suppliers all over Europe, including the UK. The UK leaving without a deal will stiffle supply chains, increase prices etc. It is such a blinkered way to just look at it as the end product. 

scotty5 20 October 2020

BMW - we need tariff free and seemless trade

BMW say they need tariff free and seemless trade otherwise blah blah blah.

Question - How come BMW managed to sell any of their products outside the EU?

 

 

 

gagaga 20 October 2020

scotty5 wrote:

scotty5 wrote:

BMW say they need tariff free and seemless trade otherwise blah blah blah.

Question - How come BMW managed to sell any of their products outside the EU?

Exactly.

If they want free trade, they need to give Mutti a shout and tell her to stop messing around.  All this talk of 'the integrity of the single market' is diversionary nonsence.  They can do what they want with it, there is noting stopping them signing a deal that says no tariffs on anything in or out between the UK and the EU, and the 'integrity of the single market' would be a vital part of that.  For produce and products, mutual recognition of standards is all that is needed (the basis of the Aus - NZ agreement).  Our safety standards for just about everything are way above the EU baseline, unlike much of the EU.

What they mean is: We love our tariffs, we are expansionary, we need the rich north europeans to keep paying our salaries, we don't want people seeing the UK thrive.

They are purposely tring to punish a close neighbour, a security as well as trading partner.

And lot and lots of chumps in the UK are too blinkered to see that.