Loans Boost For Struggling Car Giants

Wed, 08 Apr 2009

Britain’s hard-pressed motoring industry has been boosted by the news that The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved over £500m of loans to troubled carmakers Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan .

The crucial funding is part of a £6.3bn lending package to help underwrite the European car industry's investments in environmental technologies.

The EIB has approved a £340m support package for Jaguar Land Rover, which the company will use to develop new technology aimed at reducing the average emissions of its vehicle fleet by 25 per cent by 2012.

The bank has also given the go-ahead for a £373m green-car loan for Nissan to be split between Nissan's Sunderland plant and its factory in Spain.

John Cridland of the Confederation of British Industry commented: "These loans are a great piece of news for the UK car industry, which is currently suffering a sharp and ongoing slump in demand."

"We hope the UK government will also help by introducing a short-term scrappage scheme that rewards consumers who replace their older, less efficient cars with newer, more efficient models," he added.

Federation of Small Businesses national chairman John Wright added: "We welcome the EIB's support for the automotive industry but the loans must be implemented as soon as possible by the Government to ensure small businesses involved in the supply chain can benefit from this support."
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