News is coming in that the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has posted a pre-tax loss of close to £1m in its accounts for 2020. The pandemic and Brexit are being blamed.
The accounts lodged with Companies House show that the leading trade body’s loss was £934,000 in 2020 a 100+% drop from 2019 when it reported a £3.26m profit.
With the huge fall of car sales, coupled with the drop in UK vehicle manufacturing to just over 920,000 units, the SMMT’s income fell to under £17m, around 12% lower than its 2019 revenue.
At the same time, staff salaries rose from £9,862,000 to £10,048,000, though the government provided £267,000 in furlough cash to alleviate the pain.
CEO Mike Hawes has said: ‘The global automotive sector continues to work in an ever more challenging environment.
“The shift to electrification has been accelerated by the November 2020 government announcement to end sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.
“Digitalization connectivity, autonomy and e-mobility remain high level focus areas as well as ongoing environmental and competitive economic pressures.
“For the UK, there has also been a full unwinding of the exit from the EU to consider, with much detail still to be refined and improved.
“The SMMT’s activity will also be focused on the broad industry issues to be managed, including decisions on visibility in key overseas markets and regulatory capitals.”