Since the beginning of 2020, the automotive sector globally has been significantly disrupted due to outbreak of COVID-19 from China.
Not only have many manufacturing outputs closed due to lockdowns and issues with social distancing, but also the drop in the sale of cars.
Since the recession of 2008, the car industry has struggled.
The scrappage scheme was set up to boost the UK car industry, however now we have another hurdle, electric cars.
Hybrid cars and electric cars are the future, but this has to be done slowly since the automotive sector has a huge supply chain. Change things to quickly and it could cause even more disruption. Charging for electric cars is going to be a huge infrastructure challenge that will take a decade at least.
We all know that the environment suffers, not just with the emissions from our cars, but also the manufacturing systems that support the sector globally.
Marketing for automotive companies continues through our TV’s and billboards, factoring in green marketing messages to edge us towards a greener future, a more sustainable future.
Second guessing is always going to be difficult, but with global vaccine rollouts, hopefully the sector should return to the new normal soon.
Since the automotive sector is global, there is global sourcing.
As global lockdowns begin to ease throughout 2021, the sector is starting to pick up as people start to travel again.
The UK government has gone to great lengths to support all areas of the economy, and the automotive sector is one of many.
As technology has improved, cars have become more reliable (well, most of them), meaning most of us do not see the need to chop and change as we did in the 1980’s/90’s.
Some car manufacturers have introduced problems, that encourage us to upgrade or switch cars, Volkswagen being one of them recently.
However we do live in a consumer society and finance makes it much easier for people that do not have £35,000 in the bank to afford the latest Land Rover.