Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

Category: Trade Association

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is the principal trade association for the UKโ€™s automotive sector, existing to promote the interests of the industry โ€œat home and abroad, to government, stakeholders and the mediaโ€. 

The SMMT says it accepts that air pollution is a serious health risk but has been critical of some schemes to improve local air quality. It argues that the newest, cleanest diesel vehicle models should not be โ€œdiscriminated againstโ€ and that โ€œanti-diesel rhetoricโ€ is counter-productive.

Its members include more than 800 UK automotive companies, including Volkswagen Group, Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota, as well as other trade associations such as the Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association, according to its website.

The organisation provides a range of services to its members, such as certification and training, as well as the Motor Vehicle Registration Information System, a database of new vehicle registrations in the UK that it maintains. It also runs a number of conferences and seminars through the year.

Its Chief Executive Mike Hawes has described the SMMT as โ€œone of the most influential trade associations in the UK, as well as one of the oldestโ€.

Based in Westminster, โ€œin the local [sic] of Parliament and major government departmentsโ€, the SMMT describes itself as being โ€œheavily involved in political lobbying on behalf of the industry to ensure this vital sector of the economy is effectively represented to governmentโ€. 

It has a large Public Policy and Vehicle Legislation department, which lobbies policymakers on a range of issues. According to its website, the department works to forge โ€œclose links with Ministers and civil servants, especially in HM Treasury, the Department for Transport (DfT), Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS)โ€ and โ€œmeets with European decision makers and other key stakeholders in the public policy and industry arenasโ€.

The SMMT is also an โ€œassociated organisationโ€ of the main EU-focused automotive trade association, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group

As part of its lobbying activities, the SMMT runs the All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group in parliament. 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) exists to โ€œdebate current and future issues of strategic importance to the UKโ€™s automotive industry, motorsport industry and vehicle users, focusing on the role of the motor vehicle, including the environmental impactโ€. It also aims to โ€œpromote dialogue between politicians, these industries, users and other stakeholders.โ€

The group organised a briefing in parliament on vehicle emissions in 2016, in the wake of the โ€œDieselgateโ€ scandal, in which it highlighted progress made by the industry, stating that the โ€œlatest diesel cars are the cleanest in historyโ€, and claiming NOx emissions had been reduced โ€œby 84% since 2000โ€.

It is currently chaired by the Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington Matt Western. Others with named positions include fellow Labour politicians Jack Dromey, Justin Madders, Sharon Hodgson and Lord Hain; Conservative politicians Greg Clark, Andrew Griffith, Julian Knight and Baroness McIntosh; and Liberal Democrat peer Lord Fox.

Funding 

Around a quarter of the SMMTโ€™s funding comes from membership subscriptions, the levels of which are based on membersโ€™ turnover, according to its latest annual report.

In 2018, the organisation had a budget of ยฃ21,165,000, and holds net assets of ยฃ33,790,000.

Air Pollution Lobbying

On its website, the SMMT states that the car industry has an โ€œimportant role in improving air quality and protecting the health and wellbeing of the populationโ€.

In its 2019 โ€œAutomotive Sustainability Reportโ€, it notes the progress made in developing low emission technology, claiming that โ€œNO2 and particulate matter (PM) from road transportโ€ have both reduced by 76% since 1990. 

It also said that since road transport was โ€œthe single highest contributor to UK NO2 overall emissionsโ€, the industry โ€œrecognises the need for continued improvementโ€.

A 2014 report by the SMMTโ€™s All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group noted that air pollution โ€œposes a serious risk to healthโ€ and stressed: โ€œaction to address immediate air quality concerns should be a top priority for policy makers, particularly where the UK is in breach of EU air quality limitsโ€. 

It also said the uptake of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) should be promoted and โ€œpolicies to reduce emissions from other vehicle types such as buses, taxis and trucksโ€ should be put in place.

In its submission to a 2017 inquiry into the governmentโ€™s framework on Clean Air Zones (CAZ) by parliamentโ€™s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, the SMMT said it had โ€œsupported governmentโ€™s approach to a Clean Air Zone Framework which puts forward consistently applied requirementsโ€.

It recommended that the government โ€œplay a leading role in setting a framework that promotes a consistent national approach but allows local authorities to implement solutions suitable for local needsโ€.

However, it said there should be โ€œsufficient timing for industry, consumers, vehicle users and businesses to adjust to implementation requirements of Clean Air Zonesโ€.

It also welcomed the โ€œfocus on non-charging elements within governmentโ€™s planโ€ and said alternative measures should be explored, including โ€œinvestment in roads and improvements to road designโ€.

Since then, the SMMT has made a number of criticisms of CAZs, holding them partly responsible for a decline in UK car sales. It has argued that โ€œconfusing messages on clean air zones have taken their toll on buyer confidenceโ€, compounding political and economic uncertainty. Chief Executive Mike Hawes has said this has not been helped by the โ€œpatchwork decision-making at local government levelโ€.

In a statement to DeSmog, the SMMTโ€™s Chief Executive Mike Hawes said it was committed to pursuing โ€œa zero emission futureโ€ for its members but argued that some of the government’s current policies were not the right way to achieve this goal.

โ€œGetting to zero is about market transformation, and a sustainable transition that supports consumers and businesses on the journey will require the full range of powertrains. Proposed blanket bans or penalties, which donโ€™t distinguish between the latest vehicles and decades-old technologies, will cause confusion and undermine fleet renewal, which has already stalled during the coronavirus crisis.

โ€œInstead, whatโ€™s needed is a clear and consistent national approach to clean air policies, which gives consumers and commercial fleet operators confidence to upgrade to the latest, cleanest vehicles that best suit their needs – alongside improvements to traffic flow and investment in the charging networkโ€, he said.

Diesel Vehicles

In February 2020, the SMMT criticised the government for its proposed 2035 phase-out date for new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars, saying it had โ€œseemingly moved the goalposts for consumers and industryโ€. In a statement, it claimed the move would โ€œdestroy value todayโ€ without a credible plan.

Along with carmakers including BMW, Ford, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover and McLaren, it argued against a ban on new internal combustion engine vehicles being brought forward from 2040 to 2030, in submissions to the government seen by the Guardian.

Pointing to its own modelling, the SMMT claimed a 2030 ban would cause UK car sales to drop from 2.3 million in 2025 to only about 800,000 in that year. A 2035 ban would reduce UK car sales to about 1.2m in that year, it claimed, compared with more than 2 million if a 2040 deadline was allowed.

In 2017, when the proposed target was 2040, the SMMT warned that the sector could be undermined if it did not have enough time to adjust. It said: โ€œOutright bans risk undermining the current market for new cars and our sectorโ€. 

The SMMT argued that diesel cars have an โ€œimportant role to play in addressing climate changeโ€ in its 2019 Sustainability Report. The organisation has previously condemned what it calls an โ€œanti-diesel agendaโ€, claiming that around half of the rise in average carbon dioxide emissions for new cars sold in the UK was attributable to the decline in diesel demand.

Research on carsโ€™ โ€œreal-worldโ€ emissions published by the International Council on Clean Transportation in 2018 found that even the latest Euro 6 diesel vehicles had significantly higher NOx emissions than petrol equivalents and exceeded emissions limits.

The SMMT argued in a September 2019 report that commercial vehicle operators should โ€œhave access to a range of new and existing technologies including diesel, hydrogen and natural gas methaneโ€.

In 2017, the SMMT criticised the โ€œbacklash against cleaner, low emission dieselsโ€ and said the government should โ€œcreate the right policies and incentives to encourage all low emission vehicles irrespective of fuel typeโ€.

In its submission to a parliamentary select committee inquiry into the governmentโ€™s Clean Air Zone Framework, it said CAZs should be โ€œtechnology neutralโ€, defending the role that the latest diesel vehicle models could play in providing โ€œsignificant emission reductionsโ€. It argued that the government should โ€œavoid an approach that discriminates againstโ€ the latest Euro 6 emissions standards.

Tests commissioned in 2018 by the consumer group Which? found that many new diesel models exceed the legal limits for NOx under these standards. The SMMTโ€™s Chief Executive rejected the โ€œnon-officialโ€ findings and said only the official EU tests could โ€œaccurately compare models on a like-for-like basisโ€.

It has also said that โ€œanti-diesel rhetoricโ€ is counter-productive, arguing that it leads to diesel vehicle owners keeping older, more polluting cars on the road for longer.

Hybrid Vehicles

Responding to the proposed 2035 ban on new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars in February 2020, the SMMT argued that hybrid cars were โ€œessential to deliver air quality and climate change goals nowโ€.

In 2018, it criticised the government for its plans to abolish grants for plug-in hybrids, which contain both a petrol or diesel engine and an electric motor. 

Hybrids have been criticised by campaigners because their emissions savings can be quickly negated by driving in petrol or diesel mode, while โ€œextended-rangeโ€ electric vehicles can arguably offer the same benefits in terms of mileage. 

Electric Vehicles

The SMMT has publicly voiced support for electric vehicles, calling on the government to provide a โ€œworld-class package of incentives and infrastructure so the UK can be fit for an electrified futureโ€.

Ahead of the 2020 Budget, it asked the Chancellor to remove VAT for electric vehicles to boost sales and previously expressed concern about the future of government grants for EVs when this was in doubt.

In a September 2019 report setting out its priorities, it urged the government to โ€œsustain and enhanceโ€ its industrial strategy to further the โ€œtransition to ULEVs [Ultra Low Emission Vehicles] and the development of battery technologyโ€.

However, it has also cast doubt on the level of demand for EVs, which it says are responsible for โ€œjust a fraction of salesโ€.

Key Arguments in Order of Prominence

  1.      CAZs are leading to a โ€œpatchworkโ€ of different measures across the country, causing confusion
  2.      The CAZ policy has contributed to a decline in UK car sales by giving out confusing messages and damaging consumer confidence
  3.      Anti-diesel rhetoric is counter-productive because it leads to diesel vehicle owners keeping older, more polluting cars on the road for longer
  4.      Other measures should be explored before charging zones are introduced, such as better road design
  5.      The latest, cleanest diesel models can play a key role in reducing air pollution
  6.      Anti-diesel rhetoric has caused average CO2 emissions of new cars to rise because of a consumer switch to petrol
  7.      Individuals and businesses need more time to adjust to CAZ schemes

Areas Active

Bristol: the SMMT has strongly opposed a planned ban on diesel cars in the city centre, which it has called โ€œdraconianโ€. In October 2019, it argued the proposal failed to โ€œdistinguish between modern vehicles and decades-old technologiesโ€. It also said it would cause confusion and be counter-productive by discouraging people from upgrading to the latest Euro 6 diesel models. 

London: in its response to a consultation on strengthening the emissions standards of the cityโ€™s existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and expanding the cityโ€™s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), the SMMT said it supported the requirement for heavy vehicles to meet the Euro 6 standard but said it wanted to see a โ€œflexible approach to enforcementโ€ for operators planning to upgrade their vehicles. It also said a cost-benefit analysis should be published and called for โ€œadditional measuresโ€ to support the uptake of ULEVs.

Key Actions

Associated Politicians

Labour

Conservative

Scottish National Party

Liberal Democrat

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