A North East company has received a multimillion-pound funding package as part of a scheme to help the automotive industry bounce back from its worst slump in decades.
Cramlington’s Avid Technology - a specialist in electrified powertrains - is one of 10 companies sharing a £73.5m Government package that aims to develop new technologies to cut carbon emissions.
The project will see Avid improve the efficiency of its electric motor and improve manufacturing processes so that the company is able to make 100,000 motors per year at reduced costs.
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The support was announced by Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi at an automotive summit where representatives of the car manufacturing sector spelled out an unprecedented crisis in the industry.
More than 6,000 海角视频 automotive job cuts have been announced in June as a result of lockdowns, closed markets and shuttered plants, while a member survey from the the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has indicated that up to one in six jobs in the sector are at risk of redundancy.
The Nissan plant at Sunderland and the nearby Envision AESC 海角视频 electric battery plant are among those to have announced job cuts, and the North East would be among those hardest hit if the warnings on the automotive sector came to fruitition.
Industry bosses have called on the Government to address the challenges with a support package for the entire sector to help drive demand and ease cashflow.
Measures would include unfettered access to emergency funding, permanent short-time working, business rate holidays, VAT cuts and policies that boost consumer confidence.
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Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “海角视频 automotive is fundamentally strong. However, the prolonged shutdown has squeezed liquidity and the pressures are becoming more acute as expenditure resumes before invoices are paid.
“A third of our workforce remains furloughed, and we want those staff coming back to work, not into redundancy.
“The Government’s intervention has been unprecedented. But the job isn’t done yet.
“Just as we have seen in other countries, we need a package of support to restart; to build demand, volumes and growth, and keep the 海角视频 at the forefront of the global automotive industry to drive long-term investment, innovation and economic growth.
“Support delivered now is an investment in the future of one of Britain’s most valuable assets... investment that we will repay many times over.”
The automotive sector had suffered a punishing 18 months before the coronavirus outbreak, as falling demand for diesel vehicles, plus lower sales in China and the US, hit major manufacturers.
The Brexit negotiations have also hit 海角视频 manufacturers, with senior Nissan officials warning recently that a no-deal Brexit would make its Sunderland plant unsustainable.
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As well as the Nissan plant, there are tens of automotive thousands of jobs in the North East thanks to the supply chain that has sprung up around the factory and now supplies many other 海角视频 manufacturers.
Mr Hawes added: “Covid has consumed every inch of capability and capacity and the industry has not the resource, the time nor the clarity to prepare for a further shock of a hard Brexit.
“That’s why we do need to ‘turbo charge’ the negotiations to secure a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU that maintains tariff and quota free trade. With such a deal, a strong recovery is possible, we can safeguard the industry and our reputation as an attractive destination for foreign investment and a major trade player.”