MP welcomes Westfield Pod to Westminster

Westfield is taking its Pods on tour around the UK, flagging up their work developing autonomous vehicles for a string of projects around the country and overseas.

Ian Austin is vice chair of an All Parliamentary Party Group that works on policy relating to electric and automated vehicles. The group brings together manufacturers, businesses, media, NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and experts to share information, promote awareness, and debate about future low-carbon transport technologies such as electric and automated vehicles.

As a local MP, Mr Austin also wants the Black Country to benefit from the millions of jobs that these new technologies will generate.

He said: “Technology is going to change our lives and the whole world faster than ever before. There'll be massive growth and lots of well-paid jobs in new hi-tech industries over the next 20 years.

“Businesses like Westfield are developing really exciting technologies in Dudley and I want to see the Black Country take a lead in the new industrial revolution just like we did in the last one, so that we can bring new jobs and greater prosperity to this area.

“It was great to see Westfield in Westminster exhibiting their products and showing that businesses from the Black Country are up there with the best in the world."

Julian Turner. CEO of Westfield. said: “We feel very honoured to have had both Ian Austin and Mike Wood (MP for Dudley South) in the POD at Westminster. They have both been fantastic ambassadors for Westfield and the associated local supply chain of which 100 per cent comes from the UK and now a staggering 89 per cent from within the Midlands”

Earlier in the week CEO Julian Turner took Prince William on the POD in Liverpool where Julian explained that with help from the Dept for International Trade Westfield is now conducting trials and commercialising PODs in every continent around the globe.