Nissan says that it will make the decision whether or not to continue to produce cars at its plant in Sunderland next month, following the UK’s vote to leave the EU.
The Sunderland plant, Britain’s biggest car factory, employs nearly 7,000 people and is responsible for producing around half a million vehicles a year, of which 80 per cent are exported.
However, Nissan recently suggested that investment into the plant could swiftly cease if its economic competitiveness will be hampered by Brexit.
Majority of Nissan's cars exported
Nissan currently produces the popular Qashqai crossover in Sunderland, and though it was widely expected that the next-generation version would be built there too,
The plant was widely expected to be where Nissan would produce the next-generation Qashqai crossover, but depending on the carmaker’s decision production could now be relocated elsewhere.
Nissan’s chief executive Carlos Ghosn told reporters outside Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama that he wasn’t “asking for any advantage” from the government, but still wanted to be cautious.
Manufacturers increasingly concerned
Following a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May at Downing Street last week, he said that he had received assurances that the government would work to preserve the plant’s competitiveness.
Car manufacturers have been increasingly concerned that Britain is headed for a “hard Brexit”, with some like Toyota claiming that trade tariffs and duties could spoil their cars’ competitiveness.
