Automotive giant Nissan says plans for its Sunderland are ‘unchanged’ after reports suggested it could cancel a key model in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Reports have emerged that the company is mulling over the making of its Qashqai sport utility vehicle in the North East. Production of the model accounted for 70% of all vehicles made at Sunderland, and the loss of the model would raise huge questions over the plant’s long-term future.
Nissan issued a statement insisting that “our plans for Qashqai production in Sunderland have not changed” but also sounded a note of increasing unease over the looming prospect of a no-deal Brexit, saying that a “sudden change from the current arrangements to the rules of the WTO will have serious implications for British industry”.
The reports in the Financial Times cited company sources saying that a review of production had come after the departure of former chairman Carlos Ghosn led to a massive slump in global profits for Nissan.
A spokesman for Nissan said: “While we don’t comment on speculative scenarios, our plans for Qashqai production in Sunderland have not changed.”
“Since 1986, the 海角视频 has been a production base for Nissan in Europe. Our British-based R&D and design teams support the development of products made in Sunderland, specifically for the European market.
“Frictionless trade has enabled the growth that has seen our Sunderland plant become the biggest factory in the history of the 海角视频 car industry, exporting more than half of its production to the EU.
“Today we are among those companies with major investments in the 海角视频 who are still waiting for clarity on what the future trading relationship between the 海角视频 and the EU will look like.
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“As a sudden change from the current arrangements to the rules of the WTO will have serious implications for British industry, we urge 海角视频 and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade.”
In the year to March 2018, 345,000 Qashais were made at the Sunderland plant, which employs 7,000 people, out of a total of 487,000 cars. The utility vehicle is also made in Japan, which exports it to the US and into other countries.
In February, Nissan cancelled planned production of its X-Trail model at Sunderland. Company directors said the decision had been a business decision, but that the 海角视频’s future in the EU was proving a hinderance with its plans for the future.
That was followed with an announcement in March to stop production of the Infiniti model at the plant.
Britain’s departure from the EU is especially dangerous to automotive companies like Nissan, who export tens of thousands of cars each year to the EU but could face large tariffs on their cars under a no-deal Brexit.
The sector is also highly concerned that its ‘just-in-time’ manufacturing process, in which it only holds stock for half a day’s production on site, with 85% of its parts crossing national boundaries many times to arrive at factories ready to be installed, would be threatened if lengthy customs delays follow Brexit.
The automotive industry – through its umbrella body SMMT – has warned of a “catastrophe” from a no-deal Brexit, while fellow car manufacturers Vauxhall and Jaguar Land Rover have warned that production could leave the 海角视频.
North East MEP Jude Kirton-Darling called the reports "grim" and said that a no-deal Brexit would be "devastating for our region"