Auto Industry Support to be Quizzed at Sunderland Conference

LONDON, February 6 -- A senior officer from Lord Mandelson's department is to speak on the Government's support for the auto industry at next week's International Automotive Conference (IAC) in Sunderland.

Simon Carter, Deputy Director of the Automotive Unit at BERR will make the keynote address at the start of the IAC, which is being held on February 11-12. BERR is the department of Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, and is responsible for delivering the Government support to the UK auto industry.

Sunderland is home to the most productive car plant in Europe, and one of Nissan's most efficient plants world-wide. Carter sees the IAC as an important platform to underline the Government's commitment to the industry and to reinforce the message of ''Putting regions at the heart of industrial activism" for both carmakers and suppliers.

The IAC has been held annually for 10 years and attracts delegates from the UK and internationally. This year's theme, 'Car-making close to the customer', is highly relevant to the current auto industry debate on whether manufacturing in a lower-cost country is actually justified in all cases. Issues include the high logistics costs of moving components and finished vehicles around the world, and the efficiencies to be achieved from the better skills base in developed economies.

The IAC is a business event, and includes an exclusive tour of the Nissan Motor Manufacturing plant and the plants of two major automotive suppliers in the Sunderland region.

Notes to Editors:

IAC http://www.iacsunderland.com is sponsored by the City of Sunderland through its Business Investment Office and organised on their behalf by Ultima Media, a B2B publisher specialising in the global international automotive market. Ultima has magazines circulating worldwide and organises conferences in locations including Russia, China and India, as well as Europe and the US. http://www.ultimamedia.com

http://www.iacsunderland.com

Around 250 delegates are booked to attend this year's IAC

Press information: contact Simon Duval Smith, Conference Director at +44-208-987-0955; simon.duvalsmith@ultimamedia.com . Ultima Media Ltd, Lamb House, Church Street, London W4 2PD; tel +44(0)208-987-0900, fax +44(0)208-987-0948.