Automotive sector links with France strengthened by delegation to Lille
A Trade and Investment Delegation from Coventry and Warwickshire returned from Lille with new contacts made and existing relationships strengthened between the region and the automotive sector in France.
Steph Williams, an inward investment officer at Warwickshire County Council, was part of the delegation which attended the FEAL 2018 Automotive Conference in Lille.
With Coventry & Warwickshire at the forefront of the automotive sector, especially evolving technologies around battery, electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles, the event offered the perfect platform to put the region on the map.
As the business world awaits the full ramifications of Brexit, the visit enabled the delegation to take the initiative in building bridges of its own during a highly successful two-day stay.
The itinerary included speakers, analysts and government officials presenting on:
- Vehicle electrification: technology, vision and impacts 2030
- Autonomous and intuitive vehicles: uses and issues
- New mobilities and smartcity
- The global market
- The British automotive industry before and after Brexit
Amongst the Smartcity roundtable speakers was Rahat Iqbal, chief executive officer of Interactive Coventry Ltd who specialise in machine learning and big data.
The visit provided the delegation with access to key people with a view to future inward investment and trade opportunities. It also promoted Coventry and Warwickshire to a new audience and market and offered intelligence on attracting automotive companies and supply chains to the region.
Of particular interest was the presentation on the automotive industry before and after Brexit while the delegates were also given a tour of the Toyota Motoring Manufacturing site.
Steph Williams, who specialises in the automotive sector in her role at the county council, said: "It was a very interesting and worthwhile visit. We made links with Nord France Invest, CCI International, Hauts-de-France and several automotive clusters and collected a lot of information which we can now collectively use to promote and strengthen our region's business links with France.
"It was good to see and hear the high regard in which the Coventry & Warwickshire automotive sector is already held internationally. We will continue to work hard to ensure that high regard is translated into as many solid business opportunities as possible."
Alongside Steph in the delegation were James Ahearne (C&W Chamber of Commerce), Nayna Parekh (Coventry City Council), Brian Mountford (Department for International Trade), Adele Wheatley C&W Chamber of Commerce),Rahat Iqbal and Tomasz Maniak, (both Interactive Coventry Limited).