On Wednesday 10 April, NFDA-NI members hosted a meeting for key figures within Northern Ireland (NI) including MLAs, MPs, various associations and chargepoint operators at a cross-party roundtable meeting at the Culloden Estate in Belfast.
“NFDA-NI’s roundtable meeting comes at a pivotal moment amidst the evolving landscape of Northern Ireland’s automotive industry particularly with the Executive returning to Stormont in February after a two-year absence. NFDA-NI and its members met with key industry stakeholders, local and national representatives to discuss the future of the automotive industry in Northern Ireland” said Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) which represents car and commercial retailers across the UK.
Key discussions at the roundtable meeting included:
MOT Testing Backlog
One of the key topics on the agenda during the roundtable was the ongoing MOT testing backlog which has been a chronic problem for both motorists and vehicle retailers in Northern Ireland for years. A combination of Covid lockdowns and the January 2020 lift equipment crisis has seen the MOT regime in NI come under severe pressure and has failed to recover since.
Discussions centred around concerns that the backlog will have on road and vehicle safety, impact on dealerships and capacity issues. The issue has been further exacerbated by the recent announcement that planned openings of new test centres in Hydebank and Mallusk initially scheduled for this year, will face further delays, potentially until 2025.
Charging Infrastructure
Another current issue impacting the automotive industry in Northern Ireland is the dire state of charging infrastructure across the region.
During the roundtable, it was clear that the patchwork charging infrastructure requires immediate attention with the growing number of electric vehicles on the roads.
There were also concerns that Northern Ireland would fall further behind other regions of the UK during the transition to electric if action is not taken by the Executive urgently.
The zero-emissions vehicle mandate, which to date has not yet been implemented in Northern Ireland, was also mentioned. Whilst the mandate is in force in Great Britain, NI will join the mandate once Stormont has passed the required legislation although there has been no indication as to when this may happen. Until that time, NI will retain an appropriately scaled version of the existing CO2 emissions regulation for new cars and vans
Sue Robinson concluded: “The roundtable meeting fostered positive discussions around key issues currently affecting the NI automotive industry including the unacceptable state of the MOT regime and the patchwork charging infrastructure in the region.
“The current state of the MOT regime and charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland needs to be reviewed urgently by Stormont.
“NFDA-NI will continue to push for an MOT model that works for consumers and dealers whilst ensuring the region does not get left behind during the transition to electric.”
