British Ford boss launches attack on EU red tape which doubles the cost of building a car



Stephen Odell spoke at a manufacturing summit this week



South Korean rivals are importing five times more vehicles into Europe



The British boss of Ford in Europe has launched a blistering attack against EU red tape which he says doubles the cost of building a car by adding nearly £6,000 to the bill.

Stephen Odell, executive vice president of Ford Motor Company and president of Ford Europe, Middle East and Africa, made his remarks at ‘the Future of Manufacturing’ summit held at the Cranfield Business School, in Bedford.



He said: ‘EU regulations add approximately £6,000 to the cost of an average car.



'They make it approximately twice as expensive as it otherwise would be.



Stephen Odell, the British boss of Ford in Europe, has launched an attack against EU red tape

'They should not be implemented without proper consideration of their implications for the competitiveness of European manufacturers.’

Highlighting the British government's emphasis on free trade during its G8 presidency, Mr Odell warned that existing ‘unbalanced’ free trade agreements with South Korea had exacerbated problems of surplus capacity in Europe and had failed to reduce trade imbalances.

If the same mistakes are made with a planned free-trade agreement with Japan, a European manufacturing recovery could be threatened still further.

Mr Odell said: ‘In the three year period from July 2009 to June 2012, South Korea imported 207,000 vehicles from Europe.

'In the same period, Europe imported nearly a million vehicles from South Korea. That’s nearly five times as many.

Stephen Odell said EU red tape adds approximately £6,000 to the cost of an average car

‘This particular playing field sometimes feels as if it’s been built on the side of a mountain. The free trade agreement with South Korea does not and, on account of its lack of balance, cannot work in its current form.’

Using a cricketing metaphor to describe the actions of the EU and UK governments he said: ‘We are at the crease with our bats broken in advance by the administrators of our own cricket club. We are at risk of serious injury and it is time to suspend play.’

He said: 'When G8 leaders gather in Northern Ireland next month, free trade will be high on the agenda – particularly between the EU and the US and potentially between Europe and Japan.

‘We believe in free trade because we believe in economic growth. But to work, free trade agreements must be fair and properly implemented. And sadly, this is not always the case.’

He said that five weeks ago, negotiations began on another free trade agreement, this time between the European Union and Japan: 'Once bitten, twice shy. We are extremely concerned about the possible outcome.’

He said: 'The last thing we need is for Japan to exacerbate surplus capacity in Europe by flooding the market with products that are surplus to demand.

'This is surplus capacity from a market protected through non-tariff barriers and a managed exchange rate.