7:06 am, November 16, 2008
CAR firms are to seek Government aid this week, reports The Sunday Times.
Bosses of the car makers are to lobby Alistair Darling for cheap loans.
This, says The Sunday Times, will help them fund their finance arms, as well as restructure their manufacturing divisions.
That financial arm funding is significant to car dealers. It could affect the quality and quantity of financial products available to customers in the future.
It could also have implications on the type of incentives makers are able to offer.
The plea follows a report carried in the paper last week. It also comes as, the report continues, GM begins bailout negotiations with the US Government.
The car giant, represented by Vauxhall, Chevrolet, Saab, Corvette and Cadillac in the UK, hopes talks will allow it to separate ‘crippling pension and healthcare liabilities from its automotive operations.’
Things are not as desperate in the UK. One industry insider, said The Sunday Times, was keen not to be seen ‘holding out a begging bowl.’
‘We are not asking for subsidies for a dead-end sector. We are asking for help to tide a healthy industry over an unprecedented period of turbulence.’
