ALSC UK Day 1 wrap up
Partnerships, digital visibility, trade policy and market uncertainty dominated the opening day of Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain UK 2026. Hear how JLR, SMMT, S&P Global Mobility, DSV and other industry leaders are responding to evolving tariffs, supply chain disruption and the transition to electrification.
Day one of ALSC UK 2026 gathered industry experts at the iconic Mercedes-Benz World for a day filled with discussions and insights into how the industry can build more resilient, competitive and sustainable supply chains amid electrification, trade shifts and ongoing market volatility.
The UK automotive industry is navigating transformation rather than recovery, and success will depend on stronger partnerships, greater visibility and faster decision-making across increasingly complex supply chains.
Throughout the day, speakers from OEMs, logistics providers, industry bodies and market analysts explored how companies are responding to geopolitical uncertainty, changing trade rules, electrification and ongoing economic volatility.
Partnership becomes a strategic advantage
The conference opened with JLR outlining how collaboration has become central to its logistics strategy.
Levent Yuksel, freight operations director at JLR, explained that the company is moving beyond traditional customer-supplier relationships towards long-term partnerships built on shared information, joint investment and shared risk.
Rather than waiting for a single technology to solve sustainability challenges, Yuksel argued that the industry must accelerate progress through multiple fuel, transport corridor and operational trials, allowing successful approaches to scale more quickly.
That collaborative approach was echoed throughout the day, with speakers emphasising that resilience increasingly depends on treating logistics providers as strategic partners rather than service suppliers.
Digital visibility supports faster decisions
Adam Jones, senior commercial director at DSV UK, argued that logistics providers need earlier involvement in planning and greater access to shared operational data. Technologies including control towers, predictive ETA systems and scenario modelling are helping organisations move from reacting to disruption towards anticipating it.
Trade policy remains a major concern
Trade and industrial policy emerged as one of the day's most significant talking points. Alessandro Marongiu, head of trade policy at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), highlighted how proposed changes to European content requirements, battery sourcing rules and incentives for electric vehicles could have significant consequences for UK manufacturing competitiveness.
Discussions explored how evolving rules of origin, tariffs and quota mechanisms continue to influence sourcing decisions, production strategies and investment planning, reinforcing the importance of stable UK-EU and UK-US trading relationships.
Market uncertainty reshapes planning
The conference concluded with a forward-looking assessment of the automotive market from Henner Lehne, vice-president of forecasting and research at S&P Global Mobility. Lehne explained that global automotive recovery has become increasingly uncertain as energy prices, geopolitical tensions and weaker demand in China have altered production forecasts and market expectations. The result, he suggested, is an industry placing greater emphasis on resilience, flexible manufacturing capacity and a broader product mix that increasingly includes hybrid vehicles alongside battery electric models.
Watch the day one highlights
Watch the video above for the key insights and highlights from day one of Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain UK 2026.
