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02 October 2019
ECONOMY
RELATED STORIES: NO-DEAL BREXIT NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY BMW MINI X-TRAIL EUROPEAN UNION SUV
Nissan considers moving UK SUV production overseas on Brexit
NISSAN JUKE/BLOOMBERG
Nissan Motor Company will consider moving production of its SUVs outside the UK if the country leaves the European Union (EU) without a deal, reported Bloomberg.
The departure would be a major blow to UK manufacturing as the company’s flagship factory in Sunderland is Britain’s largest.
In February 2019, Nissan backed out of a plan to build the X-Trail sport utility vehicle in Sunderland, citing the unresolved status of EU-UK trade after Brexit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will present a new plan for a deal to the European Union within days, but there are already signs it may fail with just weeks left before the delayed 31 October 2019 deadline.
A showcase for automation and modern working practises, the Sunderland facility in northeast England helped propel Britain to record auto output and sales in 2016, before concerns about the Brexit vote and a government campaign against diesel models began to weigh on demand.
Nissan stated that currently, the Japanese car manufacturer is among those companies with major investments in the UK who are still waiting for clarity on what the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU will look like.
UK carmakers have been campaigning against a no-deal split since the 2016 referendum. Last week, Jaguar Land Rover said it would close its British factories for a week in November to guard against disruptions to supply chains from a possible no-deal Brexit.
The announcement followed a warning from more than 20 European trade groups that such a breakup would have an immediate and devastating impact, undermining competitiveness and causing irreversible and severe damage.
BMW plans to halt production at its Mini plant in Oxford for two days on 31 October 2019 and said earlier that it would reduce output by eliminating a work shift in the event of a no-deal split.
RELATED STORIES: NO-DEAL BREXIT NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY BMW MINI X-TRAIL EUROPEAN UNION SUV
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