Having gone from East Sussex to Walsall in the West Midlands the other day i could not help but noticing the number of German cars of different makes there were. Seems every other car was either an Audi- Merc- VW-BMW or Mini etc. No wonder Germany wants to stay “friendly” EU permitting, if we imposed a high import tax it would hit the German motor industry very hard
Hi
Your understanding of WTO rules is amazing.
We simply cannot do that.
Perhaps it’s because they make good cars.
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We have a lot of so called British Car here…so what…guess everything will always be about the EU and how bad it is…
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Many of the French ‘brands’ are not as good now as years ago…guess that goes for the British ‘brands’ also…
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Lots of development cost’s are shared between company’s now so buying something british is not necessarily a brit car, Vauxhall is now part of the Peugeot group who no doubt belong to another group.
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Most things seems to involve China though…guess it’s all those things they eat…
nothing like a Hot Dog or Dead Cat…with rice
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Hi
I voted leave, it cost me a lot of money.
The problem was not the EU, but the way our Politicians dealt with it.
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Just wondering if the famous Mini is now considered a “German car” in the UK? In Germany it’s not. Hardly anyone knows that it now belongs to the BMW group. It’s also usually marketed as a British car coming with the Union Jack on the rear mirrors and with other British emblems.
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Costs got shared …right about that…sell it all off to who ever will take tired business’s on…Was not just Thatcher that was selling off the British Isles…she more than added to it…But then we all looked so Rich to the rest of the world…for how long though…
Not into Football, but how many clubs are actually owned by the British Isles?
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I think a cars a car now, VW group own, Audi, Seat and Skoda, seems as if when researching the quality in finish starts at Audi diminishes down to Seat, catering for all budgets it seems.
Not sure to be honest, the mini we see now does not of course bear any resemblance to the old.
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Ever since the toxic mixture of British unions and poor management in effect killed-off the UK’s home-grown mass motor industry it became inevitable that the majority of our vehicles would come from the countries geographically closer to us.
Not just because our roads were not exactly designed for the American gas-guzzling behemoths which their vehicles were back at the time our own auto industry was in decline but because we already had a history of buying European motors like DAF’s, Citroens, and of course the German Mercedes-Benzes and BMW’s.
Without the once-poplular British-owned marques like Wolsely, Austin, Rover etc. etc. it was obvious that other makes would by necessity fill the void and the obvious leading contenders were European.
BTW, you might be interested to know that BMW’s were so popular here in the UK that the BMW Car Club GB was formed as far back as 1952!
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We had two Rovers this last one was a Police Car…fast take off, just straight to 2nd gear as the 1st had been blanked over…No Power Steering…popeye arm therefore… 
All Our Past Vehicles were British until we got a L200 Mitsubushi Truck, appartently that was Male must have fad…felt like you where in a Tank though, still have it parked up here, in France. Forbidden to take it on the Roads here…Napoleon’s fault of course.
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The popularity of German cars is due to the arrival of the pcp deal, you can have a new merc or bmw ect for relatively very little cost, if you look, you often see a young boy or girl sat behind a new German car, incidentally, the quality of today’s German car is not as good as it used to be, don’t get me wrong they’re still lovely cars but they are less reliable than they once were but still everyone still buys into the brand, Renault Peugeot are now making good, reliable cars, but the Japanese are still showing the way when it comes to reliability, except Nissan who are part of Renault, the Korean brands are also deemed reliable…
German cars are popular here as well. I currently drive a Mercedes because it’s a pleasure to drive and I like the safety features.
My number 2 pick is Toyota - affordable, reliable and great resale value.
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We purchased a new car for the very 1st time ever…A Nissan Qashqai it is very easy to drive and the fuel is very econmical…soon clock up a lot of kilometres here being Rural…Our choice was Diesel, it is clean and better overall than Petrol in a calm traffic region…Built up and heavy traffic I would then go for Petrol…Not Electric, they are born to fail, sadly.
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Spot-on.
In fairness the whole auto industry is in a state of change anyway and IMHO some of the larger EU marques are facing extinction, at least under their current ownership and guise.
Despite the suggestions by some people that cars powered by oil-based fuels will remain a major player for some time yet, it is becoming increasingly obvious that alternative means of powering certainly automobiles will gain both traction and popularity and the dependence upon petrol & diesel will decline hugely.
Whether it will remain centred upon battery technology only time will tell because other options are both available and possible, but already it is changing the auto industry.
One only has to look at Tesla for an example, or see that China is already making more electric cars that the rest of the world combined and that one Chinese company alone (Evergrande) plans to make more electric vehicles by 2025 that the whole of North America!
Current major manufacturers are facing challenging times.
Not sure I get that. Don’ t other manufacturers offer pcp deals as well? If so, there wouldn’t be any need to go for a German one?
The Mini is now a BMW & has no connection, other than brand name with the true Mini’s.