Restructuring the automotive industry in the English West Midlands

Abstract

This paper investigates the changes taking places in the automotive industry in the English West Midlands. For over a century this region has been the heartland of car production in the UK, but over recent decades the volume side of the trade has been in serious decline, leading to increasing dependence on the luxury side of the industry. The implications are that the supply side of the industry will be forced to move into new technologies if the auto cluster is to prosper in future. Finally, the paper looks at the attempts made by bodies such as Advantage West Midlands and the industry itself to effect change.

Keywords:

• Automotive industry
• decline
• structural change
• components
• regional development agencies and policies