§ 44. Mr. Rowlandasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to assist the Ford Motor Company and Vauxhall Motors to export to the United States of America and West Germany.
§ The Minister of State, Board of Trade (Mr. George Darling)The Board of Trade are in close touch with these companies, both of which are fully aware of the importance of expanding their exports wherever possible and of the wide range of Government services available to help them in furthering their own efforts.
§ Mr. RowlandIs my hon. Friend aware that in 1959 these two companies exported 65,000 vehicles to the United States and last year only a little over 4,000? While welcoming American investment in this country, will my right hon. Friend take steps to ensure that they know that we do not wish these companies to be subjected to parental control in favour of other subsidiaries in other countries?
§ Mr. DarlingYes, Sir. We have been in touch with both companies about their export performance both in the United States and in West Germany. They have denied that their poor performance in the United States is in any way due to policy decisions by the parent companies. The position in the United States is that there has been very little demand for British saloon cars, and a large proportion of the British cars sold are sports models which neither Ford nor Vauxhall produce. I understand that the Ford Company has recently taken steps to strengthen its distributive arrangements in the United States and is embarking on a far more vigorous sales drive there.