Great Britain’s Prime Ministers have driven Jaguars for more than 30 years. Rishi Sunak now has to switch to Audi – a consequence of Brexit.
London – Great Britain’s current prime minister brings a lot of new things to the country’s most important political office. At 42, Rishi Sunak is the youngest prime minister in more than 200 years. He is also the first Hindu in office. A supposedly minor innovation is currently an issue in Great Britain: the prime minister’s vehicle fleet.
Because Rishi Sunak, according to a recent report by the Independent be driven to appointments in an armored limousine from the Ingolstadt car manufacturer Audi. Great Britain’s prime minister and the country’s top political officials are to get into a chic A8 in the future. This breaks with a long tradition, because for more than 30 years the British car manufacturer Jaguar has always provided the armored bodies of British top politicians. But it wasn’t Sunak who chose his new car. The decision was not voluntary.
Embarrassment for Great Britain: Premier now has to drive an Audi
The Metropolitan Police, who are responsible for the prime minister’s security, announced in the summer that they would switch from the Jaguar XJ to the Audi A8. Criticism followed. Now he reports Independent but also the reason for the decision: According to this, no British car manufacturer was able to meet the safety requirements.
The background is as simple as it is bitter for Great Britain: Brexit is apparently partly to blame for the car misery.
According to the report, the shortage of skilled workers and supply chain problems caused problems for the British auto industry even before leaving the EU. Brexit and the corona pandemic then made the situation even worse. Labor politician Jonathan Reynolds speaks loudly of a “shattering situation” in the industry Independent.
UK auto industry down: ‘No bidder made by any manufacturer’
According to the report, it was not only Jaguar that was unable to meet the safety regulations for the ministerial limousines. Also Mini, Bentley, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and Co could not deliver. According to the law, however, the Metropolitan Police Service not only has to go by safety regulations when procuring the cars, but also by price.
“Specifically for this tender, at the time of the tender there were no UK OEMs able to meet the requirements of the tender or produce a similar vehicle specification, so no UK manufacturer has bid for the contract,” he said Independent British officials made a statement.
After all, only the requirements for top officials are not met. According to the government, lower-ranking officials can continue to drive in British-made cars. (rjs)
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