Mike Hawes recognised for services to the UK automotive industry

The chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Mike Hawes, has been made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the automotive industry in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

Hawes joined SMMT as chief executive in 2013, after a number of years in the automotive sector both in the UK and overseas.

Over more than a decade, he has led the trade body through a period of technological, structural and geopolitical change, working tirelessly to ensure the UK sector’s global competitiveness and reputation are enhanced.

Many of the issues that have beset the sector during his tenure have required consensus building among the SMMT’s diverse membership, something he has done with tact and respect, it says. 

From the Brexit trade negotiations, in which he advocated a deal for automotive, to Covid and the subsequent global supply chain shortages, the energy crisis and the unprecedented technological transformation to net zero, the SMMT highlighted how he had sought to safeguard jobs and businesses, promote the environmental benefits of new vehicle technology and help secure millions of pounds of inward investment.

One of the biggest challenges facing the sector is the need to attract new talent. Hawes was an advocate in the creation and work of Mission Automotive, which places ex-service personnel in jobs across the sector, signed SMMT to the Armed Forces Covenant and saw the organisation receive a Gold Award under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme – the first trade association to be recognised in this way.

He said: “Receiving such an award for services to the industry I love and have spent so much of my life championing is a huge honour.

“It is one I share with a dedicated and talented team at SMMT and a UK industry which wants to be the best.

“The past few years have been anything but smooth, but the UK sector has proven itself resilient, adaptable and, as ever, incredibly innovative.

“This recognition reinforces the importance of the industry and SMMT itself, and I would like to thank everyone with whom I have worked for their unfailing commitment and support.”

Hawes also plays a pivotal role in the Automotive Council – a partnership formed in 2009 to foster collaboration between government and the automotive industry.

As a main board member and chair of the UK Competitiveness and Business Environment working group, he has driven work to enhance the UK’s attractiveness and delivered the UK’s first Automotive Diversity Charter, which counts every major UK-based automotive manufacturer as a signatory.

Mick Flanagan, SMMT president and vice-president at Adient, said: “It is fantastic to see Mike’s enormous contribution to the British automotive industry recognised in His Majesty’s Birthday Honours List.

“Mike has devoted his career to our sector, promoting our interests, defending us when necessary and always seeking to create the conditions that would see the UK industry compete at home and abroad.

“His leadership of SMMT has seen some significant challenges – political, economic and, most importantly, once in a century technological change.

“He has managed them with calmness, diplomacy and unwavering good humour, and I am sure that everyone at SMMT and in the wider industry would congratulate him on this much merited recognition.”

Hawes joined SMMT from Bentley Motors, where he held director positions with responsibility for global communications, government affairs and corporate social responsibility.

Prior to that, he held senior government and corporate affairs positions at Toyota, both in the UK and Europe.