The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is the

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

for the United Kingdom motor industry. Its role is to "promote the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad."

History

SMMT was founded by Frederick Richard Simms on 16 July 1902. In January 1959 it moved to Forbes House, Halkin Street, Belgravia, and in August 2011 it moved into its current offices at 71 Great Peter Street, London.

Motor Show

One of its early functions was holding motor shows, the earliest of which was at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in January 1903 (now known as the

British International Motor Show The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events. Initially held in London at T ...

). The

Motor Industry Research Association An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

(MIRA) was formed in 1946. In 1978, the Motor Show moved to the National Exhibition Centre. In 2006, the Motor Show returned to London at

ExCel ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...

in 2006.

Vehicle registrations

In July 1972 it started the Motor Vehicle Registration Information System (MVRIS), which works on behalf of the government to collate data about new registrations of vehicles. Data is obtained from vehicle manufacturers and/or importers and the

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA; cy, Asiantaeth Trwyddedu Gyrwyr a Cherbydau) is the organisation of the UK government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain and a database of vehicles for the entire ...

. Figures are released on the fourth working day of every month and detailed analysis is available for purchase.

Consumer protection

The Motor Industry Code of Practice for New Cars was launched in 2004, which provides trading standards for consumers, via automotive traders who are registered with the Motor Codes code of practice. The UK car industry has had a reputation of a minority of garages and repair companies giving consumers a less-than-satisfactory level of performance, with (generally) female consumers being cynically targeted for excessive costs for maintaining their cars. Call-out charges for repairs and roadside breakdowns have been known to be uncompetitively high. The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair was launched in August 2008 to correct any ''cowboy'' practices of financial manipulation. More than 4,000 garages across the UK now are registered with this scheme. It was claimed by the

National Consumer Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

that substandard repair work by UK garages was costing consumers around £4 billion a year.

Activities

The organisation "promotes the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad" for a sector that produced 1.6 million vehicles - including cars and commercial vehicles - and 2.71 million engines in the UK (2018) and employs a UK workforce of more than 823,000. The organisation

advocates An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and lobbies on behalf of the sector, in particular for vehicle and component manufacturers, and the motor retail sector. It settles any disputes on cars in the UK that are still under warranty. It monitors combined sales of cars in the UK. Each year in May, it holds the SMMT Test Day for invited motoring journalists at General Motors' Millbrook Proving Ground at

Millbrook, Bedfordshire Millbrook is a small village and civil parish near Bedford, England. It has a population of 130, increasing to 147 at the 2011 Census. Millbrook railway station, on the Marston Vale Line, is about from the village. The parish church, dedica ...

Lobbying

Scientists on the

Climate Change Committee The Climate Change Committee (CCC), originally named the Committee on Climate Change, is an independent non-departmental public body, formed under the Climate Change Act (2008) to advise the United Kingdom and devolved Governments and Parliament ...

advised a total ban of petrol and diesel engine sales including for hybrids by 2032 to meet the UK government's decarbonisation goals. The SMMT lobbied the government to delay this ban. The resulting delay was a "significant victory for the car industry" according to

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

Structure

Aside from the Secretariat, who run the organisation on a daily basis with around 80 staff in 13 departments, and the Executive, there are many working groups and technical committees for trade sectors, and for research and marketing topics in the car industry. The future of the British automotive industry is facing many technical challenges with strict EU emission legislation, and the introduction of

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and

fuel cell vehicle A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate e ...

References

External links

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders official website

Motor Codes

SMMT Industry Forum Ltd

Europe-wide motor manufacturer organisations

Video clips

Low carbon buses at Energy Live News

Vince Cable and low carbon vehicles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Society Of Motor Manufacturers And Traders 1902 establishments in the United Kingdom Automobile associations in the United Kingdom Automotive industry in the United Kingdom Motor trade associations Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom Organisations based in the City of Westminster Organizations established in 1902 Trade associations based in the United Kingdom