Car transporter cabotage to be relaxed in September

Roads minister Stephen Hammond has approved a proposal by car transporter operators to relax cabotage restrictions ahead of new number plate peaks in car buying during March and September.

However the relaxation of the rules governing the work that non-GB car transporters can do during peak registration periods will only be in place for the ‘63’ plate in September, not the forthcoming ‘13’ plate in March.

EU Regulation 1072/2009 - which came into force on 14 May 2010 - included the rules governing cabotage which limits foreign-registered goods vehicles to no more than three loaded operations within a seven day period following their arrival in the UK.

Hammond said: "This just goes to show that making small but sensible changes can have an important impact in helping businesses to maximise their potential.

"Changing the rules in this way increases flexibility for UK manufacturers and will save industry £1.33 million a year by allowing specialised car transporting vehicles from abroad to continue operating in the UK for longer making sure that customers and dealerships are well prepared to meet demand at these peak times.”

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Road Haulage Association (RHA), car transporter operator ECM and  the European Association of Vehicle logistics (ECG) had all lobbied for a relaxation to the rules.

Operators and manufacturers had said they rely on international subcontractors as it wasn't financially viable for the UK car transporters to hold sufficient numbers of transporters all year round just to service the two peak periods.