Grim Brexit Reversal picks up speed - vital info on new EU law controlling UK car industry

One new law follows another, as Starmer puts foot down in reverse gear with no mandate

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2025

What happens to UK’s 113+ NON-EU car export markets, and the £billions they add to UK GDP?

A Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2-parter on Government's new law to enforce EU rules on UK car manufacturers

Part I - Next year all new cars made in UK must be badged 'EU approved'
Part II (this report) - Grim Brexit Reversal picks up speed - vital info on new EU law controlling UK car industry

On Tuesday (22 Dec 2025) Facts4EU published a shocking and exclusive report. In fact it looks as though this is about to become our second most popular story this year. Not popular in terms of approval, naturally, but in terms of the interest it attracted.

Our report, which was covered exclusively by GB News on Saturday, confirmed what we had predicted back in July. (We recommend reading it, here.) It revealed the Government will legislate to force reluctant GB car manufacturers to make their cars EU-compliant and badged as such – whether or not any of these cars are exported to any EU country. This is our follow-up, Part II of Tuesday’s report.

In summary, we show how it could make it difficult for the car industry to sell to their 100+ markets outside the EU and could add £4,000+ to the cost of a new car for consumers.

The UK car industry sells cars to more than 113 countries which are NOT in the EU

In May 2024, pre-Starmer, government policy for the automotive industry was so different

The previous government was very clear about the nature of the regulations in force for the car industry, and the overall direction of travel. The Department of Transport even produced a policy paper in May 2024, less than two months before Sir Keir Starmer was elected to power with a promise to ‘respect the decision of the British people’.

This paper from the DoT in May 2024 underlined the Prime Minister’s pledges in 2023 and that its intention was “seizing the opportunities of Brexit to ensure our regulatory system is agile and pro-innovation.” It stated:

“Now that the  UK  has left the  EU, we can rethink vehicle regulation. We have the freedom to create a system that meets the needs of manufacturers and consumers in the UK. In line with the commitment made in the government’s manifesto in 2019, we will reform vehicle standards, ensuring they are sensible and proportionate and take into consideration the needs of small businesses when devising new rules.”
– A vision for GB type approval, Dept of Transport, May 2024

We must remember that Sir Keir went into the election saying that, if elected, he would respect Brexit.

Now, under the new Sir Keir Starmer of late 2025, the policy is so, so different

These freedoms, reasserted in May 2024, have now vanished, and all of this has been done with no mandate from the public. From the latest announcement, the force of law is now going to be used, as a proportion of the UK’s motor manufacturers seemingly have no interest in having their cars conform to EU laws. This will add many thousands to the cost for no good reason that they can see. They are to be forced by law, whether they sell to the EU, or to the 113+ non-EU countries buying British vehicles, or indeed whether they only sell to the GB market.

This is stark news of an entire industry now having to submit to EU regulations. It follows other British companies being forced by law to do something they don’t want to do. And all because of the Labour Government wishing to align UK law more and more with EU law. Not only that, but these EU laws will be have to be followed on a dynamic basis. When they change, British companies will have to change. We will come back to this topic at the end.

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This could add £4,000+ to the cost of a new car for consumers

The difference in costs for manufacturers having to align with EU standards is of course difficult to estimate, but fortunately we do have the benefit of evidence given to the Northern Ireland Assembly by industry bodies there. Northern Ireland is part of the EU’s Single Market and therefore UK car manufacturers are forced to abide by EU regulations for all cars they sell in the Province.

Representatives of the car industry in N.I. told the Assembly’s Committee that abiding by just three new sets of EU regulations would add £4,000 to the cost of a new vehicle. They went on to say that it would also make them more expensive to tax.

It is impossible to say how much Sir Keir Starmer’s new policy of permanent, dynamic EU alignment will cost consumers if UK manufacturers have to make all new vehicles to EU specifications, but it seems clear that this will not come cheap and will be in excess of £4,000 per car.

The sheer size of the automotive industry which is affected - SMMT Motor Industry Facts 2025

According to the 2025 report from the car industry’s body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT):

“The automotive industry is a vital part of the UK economy. It contributes £92 billion turnover and £25 billion value added to the UK economy, and typically invests around £4 billion each year in R&D.
“With more than 183,000 people employed in manufacturing and some 796,000 in total across the wider automotive industry, it accounts for 13.4% of total UK export goods generating £108 billion of trade.”
“Last year, over 779,584 cars, 125,649 commercial vehicles and 1.58 million engines were built. Eight out of 10 cars produced in the UK are exported overseas to more than 140 markets worldwide.”

- SMMT, Dec 2025

What about something called Brexit?

Firstly, it is important to note that the EU numbers 27 countries. The UK car industry is exporting cars to more than 113 countries which are not in the EU. Yet the new rules will apply to all cars manufactured in the UK.

This is not the first time Sir Keir has ridden roughshod over Brexit this year. In June, we reported on the new Product Regulation and Metrology Act which creates what has been described as a ‘Statutory Instrument-making machine’ for the purpose of imposing the same laws on Great Britain as apply in the EU and Northern Ireland, as a result of the EU’s imposition of the Irish Sea border.

On top of this we had the Product Marking Regulations, which were introduced under Sir Keir Starmer’s name using the increasingly familiar ‘Statutory Instrument’ in Parliament to prevent debate and which require UK firms to place ‘Not for EU’ packaging on their products, even if they are only selling internally within GB.

Given these initial warnings, together with this major news about the automotive industry, it is now as clear as day that all the UK’s regulations are going to be forced to align to those of the EU, whatever the industry. This coming year we are going to see one subject after another come up, where the UK will be aligning in some way with the EU. To summarise this year’s and what we expect next year (2026):

Sir Keir's Brexit Reversal - Already implemented or on the way

Giving the UK’s territorial waters to the EU for 12 years for fishing rights
Product Regulation and Metrology Act (‘Weights and Measures’)
Product Marking Regulations (affecting most industries)
Cars to be marked as approved for the EU and the UK
The SPS (food) regulations
Carbon taxes
Integration with the EU’s electricity grid
The replacement of the Turing scheme for students with the EU’s enormously expensive Erasmus+
The ‘Youth Mobility Scheme’
Some kind of tie-up on defence
And many more

Observations

It could not be clearer. This Prime Minister has started on a programme of breaking his promises and drawing us back in to the EU step-by-step. It is obvious that he does not intend to delay and where these delays occur they will be due to the laborious decision-making processes of the EU. We have been warning about this since the early part of the year.

Brexit Facts4EU is now formally declaring a state of emergency for Brexit. It is our view that what we fought so hard to achieve in the EU Referendum of 23 June 2016 – and won – is going to be overturned by this Government.

We already know that Sir Keir Starmer has no respect for the largest democratic vote in the history of the United Kingdom. We know this because of his avid involvement in the campaign for “a People’s Vote”, i.e. a repeat of the Referendum. He refused to accept the people’s decision. He also did everything he could to initiate and support the moves in Parliament to block the implementation of Brexit, which kept many of us busy for years.

We will be writing more about this, but we must warn readers to be ready. We are going to have a major battle on our hands.

Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today. Thank you.

[ Sources: Cabinet Office | DoT | SMMT ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 31 Dec 2025

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Reader Comments 11

1. Sparky , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 07:24:

Quote from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). "The industry is on track to deliver more than £110 billion in trade for the third year running, despite grappling with new tariff barriers, customs costs, protectionism and geopolitical tensions. Yet the trade body warns that unresolved Brexit complications, combined with looming rules of origin requirements for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, could put this growth at risk". "While global trading patterns have shifted since 2020, the UK remains deeply intertwined with Europe. Last year, £68.4 billion in automotive trade flowed across the Channel, representing almost 60% of the UK sector’s total trade value".

2. Mr Sceptic , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 08:56:

If polling indicates that more than half the electorate is now against Brexit, there is little mileage in accusing the government of betrayal or howling down anyone who questions a decision against which people are turning.

3. Gazzablack , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 09:53:

1, sparkless
.
Nip down to the SMMT and ask them what tariff barriers they are talking about Hiroo.
.
UK car exports to the EU are tariff and quota free
UK car exports to the CPTPP countries are tariff free (except for Malaysia where tariffs will reduce gradually)
Tariffs on UK car exports to India are reduced to 10% from 100%
The first 100,000 cars to the US attract a 10% tariff, down from 27.5%
.
So if you could just get them to clarify then I'm sure we'd all be most appreciative.

4. s , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 10:09:

the EU is just an organization aimed at control without representation - oh they have a fake parliament where elected people can neither raise or amend legislation , which fools the simple minded !!, but the smart ones can see the similarities to 1930's Germany and what the pay-off will be

5. NH , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 12:30:

1. Sparky
You are misrepresenting the figures !
The "£110 Billion in trade" you mention is with the world and only £43 Billion is exports. Here's another quote from the SMMT:
.
"We have joined the CPTPP, signed an FTA with India and negotiated an advantageous deal with the USA – the most important global market for many companies"
.
The trade with the EU is mostly imports, and 30% is being paid for by UK Government welfare benefits, so we are also a very important market for the EU. By value the EU sell three times as much auto trade to the UK than the UK sells to the EU.
.
The "almost 60% of the sector's total trade" you mention is actual 54% and that is only by volume. By value we sell almost twice as many vehicle to the non EU rest of the world and the most important markets for this are the USA and the Far East.

6. NH , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 13:04:

As with most EU decisions many people in the EU disagree with the EU car regulations. Two of the EU's largest manufacturer's are strongly against the new EU car safety regulations which they believe will make small car's too expensive. The regulations treat all drivers as if they are the same and as though they drive the same routes and distances. Most drivers are safety conscious but the costly safety regulations tend to be driven by the behaviour of a small number of reckless irresponsible drivers.
.
They believe this will open the market to China which has larger scale, better technology and much lower manufacturing costs as the don't have EU manufacturing regulations.
.
They correctly state manufacturing small cars is the way to meet CO2 targets and provide environmentally convenient low cost transport which would suit many people. This market is already successful in Japan where 40% of the market is very smal "Kie cars". It seems Kier Starmer wants to inflict huge CO2 costs onto the UK public and at the same time prevent us from driving low CO2 cars.

7. Sparky , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 13:04:

This is quotes from Trans Global Ligistics UK. “Brexit has made UK import of vehicles more exposed to macro trade policies and global supply chains. It’s no longer just about customs forms — it’s about tariffs, quotas, and trade diplomacy.
Impact on UK Exports & Reciprocal Effects
While much of the focus is on imports, Brexit also changed how the UK exports vehicles. For firms shipping cars out of the UK:
 They must manage foreign customs regimes in non-EU markets, without the previous protections of EU trade agreements.
 Delays or trade retaliation in export destinations can create ripple effects upstream, affecting UK import schedules (e.g. parts coming in to repair or prep vehicles for export).
 Trade tensions (such as those over steel or industrial goods) can hinder bilateral trust and increase scrutiny on cross-border vehicle shipping.
As such, the health of UK export markets has a feedback loop into the efficiency and viability of UK import operations.”
.
Happy EUYear all!

8. NH , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 13:19:

7. Sparky
You are quoting a sales pitch from a company that handles imports and exports !
They are are just trying to sell their services and justify their costs.

9. Sparky , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 15:52:

As you guys have got selective hearing I’ve found this for you. “ Brexit rules could decimate car market unless UK joins European Union trade group”
.
Headlines from GBNews!

10. knies , Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 16:33:

We do not need to join the EU. Free trade will do all the heavy lifting for UK. We need more free trade deals and lower taxes.

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