Automotive Investment Organisation beats targets

The Automotive Investment Organisation (AIO) was created to spearhead inward investment in to the UK. It has achieved £457 million worth of investment, funded 80 projects (beating the target of 60 projects), and secured more than 5,600 supply chain jobs (beating the target of 4,000 jobs). Fallon said: "Manufacturing is driving the UK's recovery and our vibrant automotive sector is leading the way in helping to create jobs and generate growth. The Automotive Investment Organisation can take some of the credit." The AIO, part of UK Trade and Investment, was originally funded with an investment of £3 million over two years. Recent examples of AIO projects have included Canadian car manufacturer, Multimatic, announcing a new £59 million investment project which will see the creation of 232 jobs in the UK. Part of Multimatic's investment proposal will be a new research and development facility in Norfolk and a manufacturing plant in Coventry focused on the production of advanced composite components to support the development of lightweight vehicles. The AIO has also helped BorgWarner establish a Turbocharger Centre of Excellence and launch a research and development collaboration programme with the University of Huddersfield. BorgWarner has been able to secure a supply contract for JLR as a result of this investment. Both projects have resulted in more than 200 new jobs – with a combined investment of £26 million. The AIO is currently focused on driving investment from the US, Germany, Japan and China and recently visited China, meeting 16 target companies, and raising the profile of UK opportunities at the Beijing Automotive show. In 2013 UK-based plants produced more than 1.6 million vehicles (1.5 million cars) and 2.5 million engines - an increase of 3% on 2012. This bucked the declining trend in other European countries. The UK is the third biggest car manufacturer in Europe with a car rolling off the production line every 20 seconds.