Britain Could Sell More to Europe
Page 39
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
IN a European free-trade area, imports 'I of commercial vehicles by France and, to a lesser extent, • Germany, _ would increase under the influence of the more competitive design and lower cost of the British commercial vehicle .industry. .It .seemed likely that' North American producers would find it increasingly difficult to 'sell in Europe, and the Swedish industryWould probably lose some of its 'doiriestic-market.
These conclusions are put forward in the June issue Of Motor Business published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Ltd., 22 Ryder Street, London,
In Germany, where vehicle' manufacturers produced a high proportion _of theii component requirements, it might be found worth while to import many types of equipment from Britain.
It certainly seemed likely, states Motor Business, that the trend in all the producing countries towards the concentration of vehicle manufacture into fewer undertakings would be accelerated by European free trade. This was inevitable because of the advantages of large-scale production, but no dramatic developments in this respect were to be expected for some years.
If Britain did not take part in European free trade she would find herself competing against Continental manufacturers. The prices of British vehicles would be inflated by their common tariff, which would mean this country's virtual • exclusion from markets to which in 1956 she sold over 44,000 vehicles. Furthermore, benefits of rationalization from which Continental producers would gain would be denied to Britain.