The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is the trade association for the United Kingdom motor industry. Its role is to "promote the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad."
History
SMMT was founded by Frederick Richard Simms on 16 July 1902. In January 1959 it moved to Forbes House, Belgravia, and in August 2011 it moved into its current offices at 71 Great Peter Street, London.[3]
In July 1972 it started the Motor Vehicle Registration Information System (MVRIS), which works on behalf of the government to collate data about new registrations of vehicles.[3] Data is obtained from vehicle manufacturers and/or importers and the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency. Figures are released on the fourth working day of every month and detailed analysis is available for purchase.[4]
Consumer protection
The Motor Industry Code of Practice for New Cars was launched in 2004, which provides trading standards for consumers, via automotive traders who are registered with the Motor Codes code of practice. The UK car industry has had a reputation of a minority of garages and repair companies giving consumers a less-than-satisfactory level of performance, with (generally) female consumers being cynically targeted for excessive costs for maintaining their cars. Call-out charges for repairs and roadside breakdowns have been known to be uncompetitively high. The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair was launched in August 2008 to correct any cowboy practices of financial manipulation. More than 4,000 garages across the UK now are registered with this scheme. It was claimed by the National Consumer Council that substandard repair work by UK garages was costing consumers around £4 billion a year.[5]
Activities
The organisation "promotes the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad" for a sector that produced 1.6 million vehicles - including cars and commercial vehicles - and 2.71 million engines in the UK (2018) and employs a UK workforce of more than 823,000.[6] The organisation advocates and lobbies on behalf of the sector,[7] in particular for vehicle and component manufacturers, and the motor retail sector.
The SMMT monitors and reports on the UK's registrations and production figures for cars and LCVs. Each May, the organisation holds the SMMT Test Day for invited motoring journalists at Millbrook Proving Ground to test drive and review the latest new models from vehicle manufacturers.
Lobbying
Scientists on the Climate Change Committee advised a total ban of petrol and diesel engine sales including for hybrids by 2032 to meet the UK government's decarbonisation goals. The SMMT lobbied the government to delay this ban. The resulting delay was a "significant victory for the car industry" according to The Guardian.[8]
Structure
Aside from the Secretariat, who runs the organisation daily with around 80 staff in 13 departments, and the Executive, there are many working groups, technical committees for trade sectors, and research and marketing topics in the car industry. The future of the British automotive industry is facing many technical challenges with strict EU emission legislation, and the introduction of electric and fuel cell vehicles.
