Reports suggest Nissan has drawn up contingency plans to pull out of manufacturing in mainland Europe in case of a hard Brexit. A report said if a trade deal is stuck between the UK and the EU that leads to tariffs on car exports, the Japanese carmaker would focus on selling more cars in Britain.
Nissan would maintain its factory in Sunderland and aim to boost its four per cent UK market share to about 20 per cent, under the proposal. Also, it would shut its struggling van factory in Barcelona and stop manufacturing in France. Meanwhile, Nissan denied having such a plan but said its Sunderland plant would be under threat along with its European operations if the UK fails to ensure tariff-free access to the EU market.
A Nissan spokesman said, “We deny such a contingency plan exists. We've modelled every possible ramification of Brexit and the fact remains that our entire business both in the UK and in Europe is not sustainable in the event of WTO tariffs. We want our UK team of more than 7,000 people to have the best possible chance of future success, which is why we continue to urge the UK and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade.”
Nissan Europe Chairman Gianluca de Ficchy had already warned in October that the imposition of a 10 per cent tariff on exports under WTO terms would put the company's entire Europe business model in trouble. Sunderland is the UK's largest car factory and holds around 6,000 workers. It makes three of Nissan's five flagship models – the Qashqai, Juke and the Leaf.
