Talks about limiting van imports
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AFTER strong pressure from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and the Department of Trade and Industry, there are to be talks, in Tokyo, on September 6, to consider the rising trend of Japanese commercial vehicle sales in Britain.
The fears of the SMMT are that, if nothing is done to stem the tide of imported vans, Britain's commercial vehicle industry will face pressure from Japanese manufacturers similar to that hitting British car makers.
Japanese vans and pick-ups already have a sizeable presence in this country and the British negotiators at the Tokyo talks will try to persuade the Japanese to impose voluntary sales restrictions to avoid the political consequence of a disrupted domestic industry in Britain.
The market share of Japanese light vans in Britain increased from 4.9 per cent in February to 7.4 per cent in June.