TNAG-0382-FCO40-428-Sterling-assets-and-balance-of-payments-of-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 36

197m.

Grevestimat's

intorenway-

THE BRITISH MOTOR SHOW

The next major demonstration of our determination . (which will go on in all sorts of other ways at the same time) will be the British Motor Show which we are planning to hold at the former B I E Pavilion on Wanchai Reclamation from 9 to 17 February 1974. Please note

your diaries.

So

I believe that the show will demonstrate that

Britain still produces some of the best cars in the world. All the normal production models will be on show plus many of the special cars in the super quality class for which British manufacturers have long been

famous. There will also be coaches, buses, lorries

and the specialised vehicles which are so often seen on

the roads here and so readily taken for granted. Our purpose is to bring them all together, to present a show of interest to everybody, education for some and,

we hope, orders from many. After all the British car industry is still our major earner of foreign exchange. Last year it produced 2 million cars and earned £1,300 million (HK$169,000 million) in exports. far this year exports are at an all time record level over 20% better than last year and production capacity is increasing; it is now estimated at 2.5 million cars per year and of these a third are likely to be exported.

Unfortunately we have lost some ground in Hong Kong, although, despite fierce competition, we still have some 35% of the market and in some fields the smaller car and the bigger vehicles such as lorries and motor buses (leaving the mini-buses to one side)- we have improved our sales. In the middle range of cars (1,600 3,000 cc) however, we have, in terms of numbers, lost ground to the Japanese but not to any other of our competitors and I am glad to see from recent figures that we appear to be recovering some of the ground from the Japanese. The British motor agents all of them Hong Kong registered companies incidentally, with other interests also are determined to win the ground

/back

G

!

10.