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History has a funny habit of repeating itself. A hundred years ago, the car was seen as something of a curio that was the preserve of the wealthy. Aside from the fact that it was a technological revelation, the cost of motoring was so frighteningly expensive that only the rich could afford to propel themselves in horseless carriages. A new car cost the equivalent of 15 years’ wages putting it far beyond the reaches of the working man and that was without the cost of employing a driver.

Fortunately, Henry Ford was about to revolutionise vehicle production in Detroit with mass production techniques and the world never looked back. Mr. Ford bought motoring to the masses and slashed the cost of motoring to such a huge extent that prices dropped by two-thirds in just ten years.

Motoring has been getting progressively more available ever since, especially over the past thirty years but I can’t help thinking that things could come full circle if we’re not careful.

Buying a car today might be more affordable than ever but with the increase in VAT, petrol pushing £6 a gallon and the motorist seen as a soft-touch for swelling the Treasury’s coffers we could be on our way to making driving a rich man’s game once again. Alternative energy vehicles will be a welcome relief but it will need another “Fordism” to bring production costs down to palatable levels without government help.

The UK has the highest motoring taxation in the UK (more than £35bn in 2009) but judging by the state of the roads in northern England at the moment not much of that sees its way back into maintenance. Taxing customers out of their cars and into public transport might have environmental benefits but there’s a risk that what goes around comes around and that’s something the Treasury just can’t afford the loss in revenue.

I hope we see the introduction of a fuel price stabiliser in the Budget. Our industry brings so much benefit to the UK economy that we can’t afford for the public not to afford to drive.

By Tim Heavisides, Group CEO of Car Care Plan Holdings.

This article originally featured in Car Dealer Magazine.

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