UK car makers want Government help

UK motor industry leaders have asked the Government for financial aid and tax breaks to help them overcome the ongoing economic slowdown.

In a letter sent to Chancellor Alastair Darling, groups representing UK manufacturers and dealers have urged the Government to allow their financing arms to tap its special liquidity arrangements for banks.
They also asked for a state-backed loan facility to ensure their manufacturing arms can gain continue investing, following a sharp slowdown in sales.

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said industry representatives were due to meet Lord Mandelson, the Governments Business Secretary, on November 27.

Trouble in the US
Meanwhile, bosses of the three biggest US car makers, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, have asked Congress for a $25 billion bail-out.

They told a Senate hearing that without the rescue package, their firms risked collapse, and warned of broader risks to the US economy.

However, Republicans and the White House do not want to use the $700bn bank rescue cash to help car firms.
GM has warned it could run out of cash in a matter of weeks and cannot wait until a sympathetic President-elect Obama takes office in January.