Who remembers the 1970’s ?  And I don’t mean the weird music and dress sense. I’m talking about the motor trade for both cars and motorbikes.

In the UK, we were proud of our heritage with motor bikes.  We built the best.  Ok, they were a bit long in the tooth and you didn’t get much.  But it was all about image.  And no foreign manufacturers from the East could beat that.

But history proved us wrong.  We were slow to compete, couldn’t offer the same value for money and, basically, over the next 10 years the British motor cycle industry died.

Has the European Motor Trade got it’s head in the sand?

Have they forgotten the lessons from the British past?

The Europeans make some bloody good cars.  Not just the German models, but the British, Swedish and French as well.

But the Chinese are coming.

How long will the European motor industry last if the Chinese arrive with fully electric models from £10,000?   It would have to be an amazing European car that could complete with that while costing £40,000.

Remember the buying public.  The early adopters rushed towards the latest European Tesla copies, sure they were better made.  But you paid a pretty price. Not all drivers will do that.

So, to compete with the Chinese, will Mercedes knock 20% off the price of their cars?  Not if they want a stock holders revolt they won’t.

So where does that leave my colleagues in the UK motor trade.  The dealers?  I expect that a high percentage will move to welcome the likes of BYD and Geely to UK shores and add Chinese franchises to their existing showrooms or replace existing brands completely. If you can’t beat them join them.  Do we have any alternative?