TOKYO: Nissan Motor Company plans to take a second look at its Sunderland, England car plant once Brexit wraps up. The company’s CEO said the Japanese auto company invested in the Sunderland plant. The money is for new vehicles. But this plan hinged on promises from the EU that Brexit would not weaken the plant’s ability to compete. But doubt persists.
Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Motor Company’s CEO, put his trust in U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s promise. Still, he will look at the post-Brexit landscape after the deal completes. Ghosn said: “Obviously when the package comes, you are going to have to re-evaluate the situation, and say, ‘Okay, is the competitiveness of your plant preserved or not?’ We are going to have to make decisions on investment within the next two to three years, so obviously the faster the Brexit results come, the better it is.
In the meantime, we are going to continue to run [the plant] with the assumption that [the plant] will remain competitive no matter what is the outcome of Brexit.” May’s announcement that the UK would pursue a comprehensive free trade agreement with current EU members did not surprise Gohn. The decision does not affect Nissan’s plans. The automaker will continue to invest in the plant. The public demanded Treasury officials discuss any promises the government made to Nissan. The disclosure had to mention any deals involving public funds. UK officials claim the government did not offer a deal to Nissan in order to keep the plant in the area. Business Secretary Greg Clark met with Nissan executives in Japan.
In addition, he wrote a reassuring letter. Clark denied any financial promises to Nissan. Instead, the UK offered continued support of the auto industry. But Clark refused to publish the letter. Still, the plant remains important. That one plant makes about 33 percent of all cars made in the UK. Politicians decried May’s move. Julie Elliott, a Labour MP, believed exiting the customs union and single market was a game-changer. She and others fear the UK auto industry is at risk. Furthermore, they see Prime Minister’s choice as political.
They want May to, as they see it, put the region’s interests first. Another Labour MP said companies need long-term stability. Certainty the UK government did not provide. Ultimately, Nissan does not want tariffs for the auto industry. So the company plans to take a wait-and-see approach.
