AURRIGO INTERNATIONAL PLC
Proud to be a founding signatory of UK automotive sector’s first diversity and inclusion charter
Aurrigo International plc (AIM: AURR, the “Company” or “Aurrigo”), a leading international provider of technology solutions, is proud to be a founding signatory of the UK automotive sector’s first Diversity & Inclusion Charter with the Automotive Council and commits to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce that is reflective of wider society.
For more information, please see the Automotive Council news release below.
AUTOMOTIVE COUNCIL NEWS RELEASE
UK Automotive commits to workforce diversity and inclusion with landmark industry Charter
- • UK automotive industry launches new Diversity & Inclusion Charter in collective commitment to make workforce reflective of wider society and attract more talent to fill critical skills gaps.
- • Major brands representing a fifth of Britain’s automotive manufacturing workforce pledge to shift the dial as Auto Council report highlights scale of the sector’s diversity challenge and calls for faster progress.
- • Landmark initiative to be announced tonight at the 105th SMMT Annual Dinner by SMMT President and Stellantis Senior Vice President Global Circular Economy, Alison Jones.
On Tuesday 29 November, 2022 Sixteen of the UK automotive industry’s biggest brands came together to launch the sector’s first Automotive Diversity & Inclusion Charter.1 The founding signatories, representing a fifth of the sector’s manufacturing workforce, as well as organisations including Unite the Union and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), pledge a collective, public commitment to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DE&I) workforce that is reflective of wider society. The landmark initiative will support ongoing efforts to retain and attract top talent as the industry undertakes its biggest technological and industrial transformation in more than a hundred years amid critical skills shortages.
By signing the Charter, companies publicly recognise that creating a diverse and inclusive workforce is not only ethically responsible but good for business. The benefits include increasing employee satisfaction, motivation and engagement, leading to greater productivity and retention; improving decision making and problem solving; fostering greater creativity from diverse perspectives; and making companies – and the wider sector – more attractive to top talent.
Signatories commit to take action in eight key areas with the aim of accelerating progress across all aspects of DE&I within their own companies. Pledges include appointing a board-level DE&I champion to lead change from the top; embedding DE&I policies into company values; improving recruitment practices to encourage diversity of applicants; supporting career opportunities and development for every employee; creating more flexible working environments; and reporting diversity data and progress to the Automotive Council on an annual basis.
The Charter and pledges have been established in response to recommendations in the Automotive Council report Driving diversity, equity and inclusion in the UK automotive industry, which focuses, as a first step, on gender balance.2 While the report acknowledges that many companies have impressive DE&I programmes and initiatives in place, it shows the overall automotive manufacturing sector lags behind other UK industries, with women representing 12% of the workforce compared with 47% in the UK workforce as a whole.
The report also identifies diversity as a business-critical issue, citing among other studies 2019 analysis from Mckinsey, which found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to experience above average profitability than those in the fourth quartile. In the case of ethnic and cultural diversity, this outperformance rose to 36%.3
The UK Automotive Diversity & Inclusion Charter is the first time efforts to improve sectoral DE&I have been united under one banner and follows initiatives already in place across other sectors, including aviation and aerospace, defence, finance, rail and retail. It will provide a platform for the industry, via the Automotive Council, to share best practice, promote positive initiatives and report on progress in the years ahead.
Announcing the Charter at the SMMT Annual Dinner this evening, Alison Jones, SMMT President and Stellantis Senior Vice President Global Circular Economy, is expected to say, “Despite talking about this for years, with some good initiatives and progress, the Automotive Council’s first Diversity Report shows that as an industry our results are, sadly, still really low. We have to accelerate our efforts again to ensure a truly diverse and inclusive workforce. I urge everyone to join this landmark initiative, alongside the sixteen founding organisations, to really make a positive human and business impact for our workforce, our organisations and our industry.”
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive and Chair of the Automotive Council UK Competitiveness and Business Environment Group, said, “This Charter is a pivotal moment for the automotive industry – a collective pledge to drive positive change, drive out inequality, and demonstrate progress. UK Automotive is undergoing an immense transformation and our future success depends on attracting the best and brightest talent, irrespective of backgrounds, races, genders, cultures or abilities. A rich diversity of skills, perspectives and experience can give us a competitive advantage and I encourage the sector to support this important ambition.”
The UK Automotive Diversity & Inclusion Charter will be launched tonight at the 105th SMMT Annual Dinner in London, an event attended by some 1,000 guests from across the automotive industry, government and the media. Businesses in the automotive sector interested in becoming signatories can contact the Automotive Council secretariat here for more information.
Founding UK Automotive Diversity & Inclusion Charter Signatories
Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)
Aurrigo
Bentley Motors
BMW Group
Cummins UK
Honda Motor Europe
Lotus
McLaren Automotive Limited
Nissan UK
Robert Bosch
Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT)
Stellantis
TMD Friction UK Ltd
Toyota
Unite the Union
Volkswagen Group UK
Notes for editors
1 Auto Council Charter – https://www.automotivecouncil.co.uk/
2 Auto Council Report – https://www.automotivecouncil.co.uk/2022/09/new-report-driving-diversity-equity-inclusion-in-the-uk-automotive-industry/
3 McKinsey Report – https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity
About the Automotive Council
The United Kingdom Automotive Council was established in December 2009. It is a senior industry forum for dialogue with government, tasked with establishing the UK automotive sector as a world leader. www.automotivecouncil.co.uk
Media contacts
Paul Mauerhoff (SMMT) 07809 522 181 pmauerhoff@smmt.co.uk
| For further enquiries: Instinctif Partners (Financial Communications) Tim McCall, Rozi Morris | +44 (0)20 7457 2020 aurrigo@instinctif.com |
Come visit Aurrigo at the ITS World Congress UK Pavilion
Come visit us for Day 3 at the UK Pavilion stand at #ITSWC2022 in Los Angeles. A demo vehicle will be on display with an Aurrigo team on hand to answer any questions you may have. The Pavilion is hosted by Innovate UKand Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom for International Trade (DIT) in the US, supported by @ITS (UK) – Intelligent Transport Systems (UK), the @Transport Technology Forum and Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) Chris Keefe Miles Garner
#uktrade #GREAT #innovation #events #ertico
Aurrigo heads to Alnwick for Self-driving rural first for the UK
Latest News from Aurrigo
An iconic Northumberland venue that has hosted Harry Potter and The Transformers films was again in the spotlight this weekend when it held a major UK first.
Aurrigo, a world leader in autonomous technology, started a four-day trial of its self-driving vehicles at Alnwick Castle and The Alnwick Gardens on Saturday, as part of a major new study led by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and insight and strategy specialists BritainThinks.
Local residents enjoyed the opportunity to attend ‘The Great Self Driving Exploration’ on the 19th and 20th June, where they took a closer look at self-driving vehicles, asked questions and even enjoyed a ride.
These trials are the first time that self-driving vehicles have been tested in rural communities and saw the firm’s Auto-Pod carry up to two passengers on a shared 500 metre path that connects the Alnwick Gardens to Alnwick Castle.
Aurrigo’s Auto-Shuttle, which can hold up to six people for this trial, was also operating, taking people from the busstation to the castle in a 1.2km route that was shared with live traffic, including cars, bikes and pedestrians.
Both self-driving vehicles use a suite of sensors to understand their surroundings and are electric-powered.
“It’s great to be showcasing our technology in such a beautiful location and the feedback we have received will beimportant in the future development of self-driving vehicles,” explained Ricky Raines, Operations Manager at Aurrigo.
“We believe these types of first and last mile transport is key to supporting people with mobility issues and thisExploration event will be extremely useful in helping understand how individuals in rural locations feel about self-driving technology and any changes that can be made to enhance the user experience.”
Mark Brassell, Director of The Alnwick Garden, added his support: “Alnwick Castle and The Alnwick Garden are thrilled to be hosting The Great Self Driving Exploration, giving local people the opportunity to experience the latest innovations in self-driving vehicles.
“The event offered a fantastic opportunity for people to trial the vehicles themselves and learn more about the future of self-driving vehicles and their potential role in enhancing current transport provisions – delivering safer andmore accessible transport in the process.”
Aurrigo, which is currently completing other passenger trials in the UK used its appearance at Alnwick Castle to reveal its Auto-Deliver for the first time.
This static display gave people the chance to look around the self-driving ‘grocery delivery’ vehicle that could change the way we receive essential items to our doors.
The way it has been designed means organisations can complete multi-drops using the power of password/QR protected compartments, ideal for serving housing estates, University campuses or business parks.
Transport Minister Trudy Harrison commented: “Self-driving technology has the potential to reform the way we getfrom A to B, making our future journeys easier, more environmentally friendly and, crucially, safer.
“I’m committed to ensuring this innovation improves road safety and, as we work to safely introduce self-driving vehicles to our roads in the coming years, it’s key the public is closely involved in the journey. I hope thesedemonstrations provide an opportunity for the public to learn more about the technology and experience the cutting-edge innovation first-hand.”
Lucy Farrow, Associate Partner at BritainThinks, concluded: “The BritainThinks team are delighted to be delivering this innovative research project in partnership with CCAV, UCL and Aurrigo. It offers a unique opportunity tounderstand not just what people think of self- driving vehicles as they are now, but also their hopes and expectations for the future.
“This will provide crucial insight to government and industry to support the development of self-driving technology that benefits everyone across the UK.”
For further information, please visit www.aurrigo.com or follow @aurrigotech on twitter