iolvo rests its case
Page 7
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WAR of words between ro and Leyland Vehicles over suspension of Volvo's sh manufacturer label has stepped up.
)Ivo Trucks (Great Britain) 'aging director Bernt BrandtI issued a statement last k criticising the actions of Hancock, chairman of LeyVehicles.
.3 accused Mr Hancock of tding considerable time and rt telling SMMT members Volvo could not possibly ify for membership status. do not intend to waste our explaining the finer details )roduction costing to him, do not intend to argue this rt with Leyland,he said.
folvo seeks comfort from the that trucks and buses built at ;catfish plant more than exI the SMMT requirement 'meter of 50 per cent local ent by value."
pointed out that the SMMT essional staff were satisfied that the rules were being observed by Volvo. "Volvo's integrity is not in doubt a point which SMMT president George Turnbull emphasised to me during our discussions on the subject," Mr Bra ndtzaeg said.
Volvo claimed that other SMMT members, traditionally regarded as British manufacturers, did not meet current local content requirements. Their membership is not questioned, Volvo said.
"It would seem, therefore, that -if a company was already 'in the club' when the rules were drawn up in 1967, it remains a club member today," he said.
"There is no question that Volvo builds trucks and buses in Scotland with more than 50 per cent local content for home and export, and no SMMT stamp of 'approval' is requried to substantiate that," Mr Brandtzaeg said.
Volvo will continue to offer an unrivalled product, he said, with the option of vehicles built in Britain, Belgium or Sweden and all to the same high quality standards. Its back-up support is wholly British, he said.
Volvo pointed out that its advertising was not misleading, as Leyland Vehicles had alleged. The Code of Advertising Practice Committee had not upheld Leyland's complaints.
A spokesman for Leyland Vehicles told CM: "The subject is to be decided by 'the SMMT Council which is the authority on the matter and not by the SMMT staff. We are satisfied that the SMMT Council will finally resolve this issue."
He added that seven out of every 10 vehicles which Volvo sells in the UK are imported.
SMMT vehicle sales figures back up that fact. For the first three months of 1983 Volvo sold 1,066 lorries and buses in Britain. A total of 366 were made in Britain. And for the whole of 1982, only one quarter of the 3,832 lorries and buses sold in the UK were manufactured here.
A spokesman for the SMMT said that there were no further developments on the suspension.