They already have factories and extensive supply chains in Japan, so it’s not necessarily all that expensive, especially if the Swindon plant needs re-tooling for new models. Typically such decisions coincide with plant and tooling refresh cycles.
Remainer though I be, looking at it objectively I suspect this has more to do with the recent EU trade deal with a Japan. Cars made in Europe were exempt from import duties, but now that import duties on cars from Japan are going away that incentive is going away with it.
But then making cars in the UK may become liable to EU import duties after brexit, and we wouldn’t benefit from reduced duties selling our native cars into Japan either, so there are a lot of increased risks over here.
Brexit hasn’t happened, so it’s hard to draw a straight line between any one event like this and Brexit. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a factor and we do know investment in the UK has collapsed over the last few years, particularly in manufacturing.
Remainer though I be, looking at it objectively I suspect this has more to do with the recent EU trade deal with a Japan. Cars made in Europe were exempt from import duties, but now that import duties on cars from Japan are going away that incentive is going away with it.
But then making cars in the UK may become liable to EU import duties after brexit, and we wouldn’t benefit from reduced duties selling our native cars into Japan either, so there are a lot of increased risks over here.
Brexit hasn’t happened, so it’s hard to draw a straight line between any one event like this and Brexit. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a factor and we do know investment in the UK has collapsed over the last few years, particularly in manufacturing.