Peugeot could demand compensation from the British government to keep its Vauxhall factory in Ellesmere Port open in the event of a bad Brexit deal, its chief executive has said. Carlos Tavares, the head of Peugeot’s owner, PSA, said the carmaker’s European workers should not be forced to bear the costs of “customs barriers” between the UK and the EU when the transition period finishes at the end of the year.
Carmakers have voiced concerns about the future trading relationship between the UK and EU, with repeated warnings that tariffs and customs checks could threaten the survival of large parts of the industry.
The Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire, which employs about 1,000 people, is seen as particularly vulnerable because a decision on building a new Vauxhall Astra model is overdue. PSA, which is merging with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, has already stopped investment in the factory.
In a call with journalists, Tavares said: “If we couldn’t find a business case … we would have to ask the UK government to compensate for that, because it is not ethically acceptable that we ask the continental European workers to pay for the customs barriers to enter the UK market.
Tavares’s comments came as carmakers arranged phone calls and online launch events to replace the Geneva motor show, which was cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak that has already rocked the global car industry.
Tavares said coronavirus had been a “wake-up call” for carmakers that they must take control of battery supply chains that are heavily dependent on China. Peugeot had been forced to step in to help a South Korean battery producer to increase production at a factory in Poland, with supply chains creaking.
