Fleets could have a role in supporting UK car manufacturing, FleetCheck suggests, as Nissan questions its factory future.

FleetCheck MD Peter Golding said finding the easy wins would help fleets start electrification and added that it’s “very much a matter of getting the ball rolling”

A senior boss at the carmaker told the BBC last week that the UK faced a challenge to remain competitive with other car-making countries – and warned having lower production costs was key to keeping the UK competitive.

But FleetCheck has said that businesses buying vehicles could have a positive impact on local manufacturing.

Peter Golding, MD at the fleet management software specialist, stressed the company was not calling for a revival of old-school ‘Buy British’ campaigns and that the global economy was generally a good thing for fleet operators.

But he warned that UK motor manufacturing had seen some high-profile losses in recent years, including Honda’s exit, BMW’s shift of electric Mini production to Germany and Jaguar Land Rover’s reported plans to take EV production to Slovakia.

Recent weeks have also brought ups and downs surrounding Britishvolt while UK electric vehicle startup Arrival announced last year that it’s turning its focus to the US, both of which have led to criticism of the UK government’s lack of industrial strategy and competitive subsidy packages.

FleetCheck’s Golding added that the damage caused to UK motor manufacturing by both Brexit and the Covid crisis had been considerable, and further factories could disappear with surprising speed.

However, he said, it was an area where fleets had a hand to play.

“The fact is that fleets are generally completely agnostic about where a car is produced when they draw up choice lists and perhaps we need to start having a conversation about the advantages of supporting local manufacturing. If we lose Sunderland, Burnaston and Oxford, then the UK’s claim to be a major manufacturer of cars is pretty much over.

“Fleets can have a voice in whether that happens by voting with their orders and supporting manufacturers that invest in the UK such as Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Toyota and BMW Mini.

“We are not without influence and it is perhaps appropriate that we have a conversation about the future of motor manufacturing in the UK and the role we could play.”