The Single European Market is referred to as one territory without any internal borders or other regulatory obstacles to the free movement of goods and services. (European Commission, 2018). The main aim when the EU was introduced was to make Europe a war-free zone, so they developed both a joint system of law and making the member states economies within completely co-dependent. The Single European Market encourages more competition, trade and driven economic growth, which makes the day-to-day running for businesses much easier. A sector within the Single European Market, which is otherwise known as SEM, that covers a substantial proportion of Europes economy is the automotive industry. This sector is a vital party for Europe, as it provides jobs for 12 million people and also represents 4% of the EUS GDP. The automotive industry is extremely important for multiple reasons, some of these being: links to other sectors, employment and economy. The automotive industrywithin the EU is one of the worlds largest producers for motor vehicles, andalso represents one of the biggest private investors in research anddevelopment (R&D). This industry isone of the most productive compared to different manufacturing sectors as itemploys 169,000 people directly and 814,000 in connection to supply chainsthroughout the UK. The Single European Market can impact the automotive sectorin many ways, as it is one of the most integrated sectors within the EU, sohaving things such as complex supply chain. can be both a positive, and anegative. Tariff barriers, movement oflabour and low barriers to entry different things that can have a large impacton the automotive sector within the Single European Market. The backbone for theEuropean economy is the automotive sector, so the vision of trade is a largeaspect for this industry. Within the UK, they export around 80% of the carsthat are produced here, and around 56% of those go the rest of the EU. Inregard to Brexit, when the UK will not be a member of the Single Europeanmarket they will not have the ability to trade freely with EU members, whichmeans their export costs to companies within the EU after Brexit has come intoplay will increase. However also 86% of the vehicles that are sold in the UKare imported and around 70% of these are from the rest of the EU itself. Thiswill impact the UK a great deal unless both parties can negotiate and come toan agreed arrangement, which allows free trade within the Single Market and theUK, which would benefit both. According to George Osborne and Nigel Farage theNorway option of leaving the EU but joining the European Economic Area (EEA)might be on the cards. (The Institute for Government, 2018). The Norway optionis that the UK would stay in the EU Single Market and leaving the customs union,but by doing this they would still have to accept the EU four freedoms eventhough they would have full access to the single market for goods and services.Nissan which are one ofthe Europes largest car plants and is one of the most productive factories inthe UK. Many of the parts for Nissans cars are imported from countries withinthe Single Market and 55% of all cars produced are exported within the EU.Trade is a positive of how the SingleEuropean Market has impacted this the motor vehicle sector, because Nissantrades a lot with the EU, this saves them a lot of money as they dont have topay import and export taxes on any of the parts they buy or the cars theyimport/export. This also means they have an integrated supply chain, meaning itwill be easier for the company to trade to get different parts. The Nissan Qashqai is Europes top selling cars, which suggests that there is ahigher demand for it in different countries of the EU, so being able to Tradefreely within the Single Market will generate economic growth for the EU. The four freedoms whichare also known as the founding principles of the EU are the movement of goods,services capital and labour. The movement of labour is a large part of theautomotive sector within the EU as, it gives people the right to work in adifferent country without having to apply for a visa. Having free movement oflabour benefits all countries in the EU also as it means that workers can lookfor jobs in other countries which would benefit their economy. The SingleEuropean Market play a big part in the movement of labour for the motor vehicleindustry. The movement of labour within the SEM can impact the automotivesector in many ways, as a lot of companies within this sector look to differentmember states within the SEM and the UK to fill any job vacancies they mayhave. This is a positive aspect for the motor vehicle sector as a company arecreating a new car or are starting another project and have a specific jobvacancy that needs filling. This means they are then free to advertise that jobdifferent countries within the EU that are more specialised to the thatspecific role, which means the person can go and work on the project withouthaving to apply for a visa. By doing this the consumer will be getting abetter-quality product at the end of the day as there would be people workingon the project that specialise in certain fields. However there is also some negative aspects that can come with the movement of trade in the Single European Market in the automotive sector. One of these aspects is that many businesses in the Single European Market could lose a lot of workers is there wasnt movement of trade. The reason for this being is that businesses would be limited in where the advertise for employees as they wouldnt only be able to come from that specific country as if they wanted anyone else from specialist countries then that would be a long process as they would need to get a visa and get that approved in order for them to be able to work in the country. As there are many foreign specialist workers and eastern Europeans in Nissan that work on specific areas developing different parts for cars. Another factor of the Single European Market that can have an impact on the automotive sector is CO2 emissions. Within the EU cars are responsible fort around 12% of the total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the main greenhouse gas. A negative point of this is that once the UK leaves the European Union, we are launching our own emissions trading system or reverting to a carbon tax. Every two years the cap is changed on CO2 emission meaning car manufacturers would have to constantly change their engines. This would be a negative aspect for car manufacturers such as Nissan when Brexit comes into play the British government may decide to switch from the EUs Emissions Trading Systems to a new UK Emissions Trading System. This means that car companies would have to re make a new engine in the middle of the term so they would be losing money and they would have to hire a specialist out to re design the engine to make it more efficient, and then ship in the parts from different areas, all which are costs that could be avoided by striking the correct negotiation deal. As the motor vehicle is one of the largest sectors in the single market, the CO2 emissions is something that affects them as all companies want to do their part to reduce the carbon footprint. The UK has a target of planting 11 million new trees over the course of the next 25 years, however Brexit will also have an effect on this target according to the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove. The EU currently havean agency with overlooks the plants and trees that get imported in the UK tomake sure no diseased plant life are entering the UK. As Britain gets most oftheir trees imported, when Brexit gets enforced this can become a problem as Britainwould have to import trees in and run the risk of having diseased trees or stopthe imports totally but have high risk of missing the target. As trees take inthe carbon dioxide that the cars give out, by having less trees this could harmthe country in multiple ways. The Single EuropeanMarket has many laws and regulations for a lot of the automotive sector. CarInsurance Regulations is one of these important aspects that the single markethas an effect on, in the motor vehicle. The cost of car insurance is alreadyhigh for anyone however the single market a few years ago made sure thatinsurers werent allowed to take someones gender into account when they arelooking to ask for a quote. This is a positive thing for all consumers whenlooking at trying to find the best quote they can they know that they aregetting a fair quote, not being judged based on if they are a man or a woman.However, the referendum may cause some changes in the prices of insurance, butthere is no major indication of it. Although there is nothing set that therewill be any price change in general for insurance, as the UK will no longer bein EU they dont have to abide by any European Laws, so the price of insurancecould decrease for woman and increase for men. As statistics show that men havereceived more traffic violations and are seen as liable for a larger number ofcar accidents, therefore needing higher insurance, and womens will go down astheyre deemed safer drivers for the population. One of the largestscandals in motor vehicle history, was Volkswagens Dieselgate. On the 17thof September 2015, Volkswagen was on a steady growth path on the AmericanMarket, however that all changed on September 18th as the EPA (EnvironmentalProtection Agency) tested the companies new Diesel-powered cars which failedunder the grounds of violating the Clean Air Act. The cars had been proven tobe a lot cleaner and safer for the environment. The company had been using aspecial software that allowed the car to pass emissions testing to the highestlevel, which then automatically shut off going back to normal driving. Afterthis, all cars that were fitted with this type of software, ended up pollutingalmost double the amount of emissions that had been predicted for the year. Thecompany also claimed to all their consumers that these cars where the cleaneston the market which was a statement their consumers bought into when purchasingthe car. After recalling as many of the cars as possible and letting allconsumers know they are free to send their car back to a dealership to get thesoftware removed and apologise on the companys behalf. The Single Market receivedsome bad publicity in the years following this disaster as many people believedthey didnt do as much to help the environment following the event. AlongsideVolkswagen there are multiple companies that are showing too high emissionlevels in different driving circumstances. This will affect how the EU react indifferent environmental issues, and what they do in those situations that canhelp benefit not only the businesses involved but the environment too. To sum up, there aremany different factors of the Single European Market Programme that could andhave affected the Automotive industry. The Referendum, Freedom of Trade,Movement of Labour, CO2 emissions, Insurance, and the environment alongsideDieselgate are all major contributors of the Single European Market Programmeimpacting the Automotive sector. The motor vehicle industry is one of thelargest contributors to the Single Market and while has multiple positive andnegative aspects, they all affect everyone in in different ways. Brexit is oneof the largest unknown factors for the UK and the Single European Market todate, and while no one is completely certain on the outcomes that it will haveon the automotive sector in the UK, each one of these factors even with theirown connections to the Single Market Programme, will try and predict the bestpossible future for the Automotive industry. The Single European MarketProgramme in connection to the automotive industry has affected the economy inmore ways than one, and free trade allows many different business connectionsto happen so companies can expand their supply chain and integrate it withother sectors. Movement of Labour allows consumers to receive the best qualityproduct they are able to, as companies can hire certain people for specialistjobs from anyway within the SEM, which improves productivity. CO2 emissionsalongside the Dieselgate disaster have impacted this industry for many years tocome, which will in the end benefit future generations who are currently beinginspired by the work that goes into this sector to make it one of the largestand most productive there is. There will always be implications in any sectorthat has a partnership with the Single European Market Programme, howeverhaving faith in the current partnerships that each business has made, andhaving a vote of confidence in the government and how they will handle the UKthe SEM is the most important part. BibliographyGrowth. 2018. The European Single Market EuropeanCommission. [ONLINE] Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market_en.[Accessed 15th November2018].politics.co.uk. 2018. European single market. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.politics.co.uk/reference/european-single-market.[Accessed 15th November 2018].The NE Automotive Industry · NEAA Portal .2018. The NE AutomotiveIndustry · NEAA Portal . [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.northeastautomotivealliance.com/the-ne-automotive-industry/.[Accessed 15th November 2018].The Independent. 2018. EU single market: What is it and why should we care if the UK leavesit? | The Independent. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/single-market-brexit-eu-trade-deals-what-is-uk-leave-european-union-why-a8557176.html.[Accessed 16th November 2018].Financial Times. 2018. Long road ahead to completion of EU single market | Financial Times.[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/64bf972c-a2b4-11e7-8d56-98a09be71849.[Accessed 16th November 2018].The Institute for Government. 2018. The options for the UKs tradingrelationship with the EU | The Institute for Government. [ONLINE] Availableat: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/options-uk-trading-relationship-eu.[Accessed 16th November 2018].Get Help With Your AssignmentIf you need assistance with writing your assignment, our professional assignment writing service is here to help!Find out more
