(Anti EU) British Ford boss launches attack on EU red tape which doubles the cost...

[Kalipo]

British Ford boss launches attack on EU red tape which doubles the cost of building a car

The British boss of Ford in Europe has launched a blistering attack against EU red tape which he says doubles the cost of building a car by adding nearly ?6,000 to the bill.

Stephen Odell, executive vice president of Ford Motor Company and president of Ford Europe, Middle East and Africa, made his remarks at ?the Future of Manufacturing? summit held at the Cranfield Business School, in Bedford.

He said: ?EU regulations add approximately ?6,000 to the cost of an average car.

'They make it approximately twice as expensive as it otherwise would be.
Stephen Odell, the British boss of Ford in Europe, has launched an attack against EU red-tape

Stephen Odell, the British boss of Ford in Europe, has launched an attack against EU red tape

'They should not be implemented without proper consideration of their implications for the competitiveness of European manufacturers.?

Highlighting the British government's emphasis on free trade during its G8 presidency, Mr Odell warned that existing ?unbalanced? free trade agreements with South Korea had exacerbated problems of surplus capacity in Europe and had failed to reduce trade imbalances.

If the same mistakes are made with a planned free-trade agreement with Japan, a European manufacturing recovery could be threatened still further.

Mr Odell said: ?In the three year period from July 2009 to June 2012, South Korea imported 207,000 vehicles from Europe.

'In the same period, Europe imported nearly a million vehicles from South Korea. That?s nearly five times as many.
Stephen Odell said EU red tape adds approximately ?6,000 to the cost of an average car

Stephen Odell said EU red tape adds approximately ?6,000 to the cost of an average car

?This particular playing field sometimes feels as if it?s been built on the side of a mountain. The free trade agreement with South Korea does not and, on account of its lack of balance, cannot work in its current form.?

Using a cricketing metaphor to describe the actions of the EU and UK governments he said: ?We are at the crease with our bats broken in advance by the administrators of our own cricket club. We are at risk of serious injury and it is time to suspend play.?

He said: 'When G8 leaders gather in Northern Ireland next month, free trade will be high on the agenda ? particularly between the EU and the US and potentially between Europe and Japan.

?We believe in free trade because we believe in economic growth. But to work, free trade agreements must be fair and properly implemented. And sadly, this is not always the case.?

He said that five weeks ago, negotiations began on another free trade agreement, this time between the European Union and Japan: 'Once bitten, twice shy. We are extremely concerned about the possible outcome.?

He said: 'The last thing we need is for Japan to exacerbate surplus capacity in Europe by flooding the market with products that are surplus to demand.

'This is surplus capacity from a market protected through non-tariff barriers and a managed exchange rate.

?So, we ask the European Commission to respect its commitment to suspend negotiations if Japan does not deliver on its promise to dismantle non-tariff barriers.?

[GastonJ]

Sounds like he means "We don't want people to be able to buy reliable cars at a reasonable price, we want them to buy Ford......." Let's face it, he only has his own self interest at heart, unless you think that he's going to drop the price of his cars by ?6k if no free trade deal is made? Hands up everyone who thinks he'll drop the price.

[Meat-Head]

So could he not say 'red tape' anymore times

dorry not in the mood!,, what is currant price of a certain spec car here in ingland, then in europe then emerica for simular car

[GastonJ]

$16,200 - US
?13,995.00 - UK


For the run of the mill Ford Fockus.....


I haven't taken tax into account, since it all depends where you live in the US as to how much tax you pay.


If you want to take the exchange rate into account you might want to take the average wage into account as well. Average wage for the UK is ?26k, average wage for the US is $50k. However then go ask how many people you know earn the average wage or above who appear to be Fords target as buyers?


However since Ford don't actually make any cars in the UK I think he's in a time warp:


"In February 2002, Ford ended car production in the UK. It was the first time in 90 years that Ford cars had not been made in Britain, although production of the Transit van continues at the company's Southampton facility, engines at Bridgend and Dagenham, and transmissions at Halewood. Development of European Ford is broadly split between Dunton in Essex (powertrain, Fiesta/Ka, and commercial vehicles) and Cologne (body, chassis, electrical, Focus, Mondeo) in Germany. Ford also produced the Thames range of commercial vehicles, although the use of this brand name was discontinued circa 1965. Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Mondeo range in Genk (Belgium), Fiesta in Valencia (Spain) and Cologne (Germany), Ka in Valencia, and Focus in Valencia, Saarlouis (Germany) and Vsevolozhsk (Russia). Transit production is in Kocaeli (Turkey), Southampton (UK), and Transit Connect in Kocaeli."

"Stephen Odell, the British boss of Ford in Europe, has launched an attack against EU red tape"


Maybe he ought to think of where his cars are made, since it certainly isn't in the UK. Perhaps he's boss of Fords timewarp centre?

As for complaining about South Korean manufacturers, does he forget it was his company that helped Hyundai get a start in life by licensing them to make Ford cars? I don't recall them complaining that Hyundai were paying Ford for that and how unfair it was to be given money by South Korea. Or that until 2010 they had a large share in Mazda? or that they partnered with Nissan for many years. Is he thinking of EU consumers or profits? I know which my money is on.

[Meat-Head]

Cool good bit if utting and pastinh

jever knew thames were ford nor they were involved with nelson mandella cars

[GastonJ]

Aye like all companies on the run they use any excuse they canto whip up public outcry at them being 'victimised' and that the public are suffering when in reality the companies themselves are in it to make more money and a fast buck for themselves. Generally they caused their own problems anyway.

Who caused banks to fail? - who's paying for it? Anyone had a written apology yet. Dear Sir, sorry we lost our money and so took yours instead, and even better we're charging you to give us money to pay us back (think government contracts for banking services)
Water companies, those happy souls that took over the public services for peanuts, who let water leak away like it cost nothing - who's having to pay more to have the leaks fixed, it's certainly not the shareholders.
Fake whiplash claims push up insurance bills by ?118 a year with premiums up 80 per cent in four years - hands up everyone who's insurance went down this year due to the changes that benefited insurance companies, and did it go down by ?118?
Capping wage rises for the public sector, ad ?0 for 2 years then 1% for this year - hands up everyone who's bills went up 0 for the first years and then 1% this year?

I could go on, but won't - you'll all be asleep , companies only think of profits (which is why they exist) and this government thinks of ways to help them make more money.