Nissan in Sunderland

Mark Garnier Excerpts

Monday 4th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for what he said, and I can certainly refute that. He knows that I have given particular attention to the expansion of prospects for the automotive industry, including by establishing the programme for battery technology and connected and autonomous vehicles. I travel the world to make the case for Britain as the home of the vehicles of the future. Of course, Nissan is a hugely valued investor, employer and innovator in this country, and we will work closely with it in future.

On clean diesel, I have said to Members from all parties that the country will undergo a transition to fully electric and zero-emission vehicles, and a new-generation clean diesel is a perfectly reasonable choice for people to make, especially those who, for example, use it regularly for long journeys. People should be clear about that.

[Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has very clearly shown his enthusiasm for the future with the Advanced Propulsion Centre and the Faraday challenge. On the issue of diesel, however, changes in diesel legislation have resulted in a significant slowdown in the second-hand car market for diesels. That market is incredibly important to the financial sector that finances the car market in the whole of the UK. Has he done an analysis of what is going on in the second-hand diesel car market and its implications for the whole of the financial market in the UK?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; as the House knows, there has been a slowdown in the market for new diesels. People are hanging on to their existing ones and values have fallen in the second-hand market. It is something that is reflected across the whole of Europe, and indeed in many other parts of the world. We need to make sure that we are clear that the next generation of diesel is a perfectly reasonable choice for people, and that we accelerate the deployment and the uptake of electric and zero-emission vehicles. That has been our determination in the past two and a half years, and that is recognised by the industry right across the world.