Carmaker Stellantis fears it will have to close factories in the UK if a better trade deal is not struck with the European Union. Stellantis has set up factories in Luton and Ellesmere Port based on EU guarantees. Now that this cannot be met due to Brexit, factories may have to close, according to the Bloomberg news agency, among others.
“If the cost of manufacturing electric vehicles in the UK becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, companies will close down,” said a spokesman for Stellantis, the parent company of Opel, Citroën and Fiat, among others.
Export rate
Stellantis wants the current rules on the procurement of parts to be extended until 2027. New rules are expected to take effect from 2024. So a 10 percent tax rate applies to vehicles exported to the EU.
Stellantis employs around 5,000 people in the UK. In Ellesmere Port and Luton, Opel vans, sold in the UK under the Vauxhall brand, will be used by Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat.
Japan’s Nissan also has a manufacturing facility in the UK, with a second on the way. According to former Nissan UK boss Andy Palmer, many jobs are at risk. The costs of bankruptcy are obvious. That’s about 800,000 jobs in the UK, jobs related to the automotive industry,” he told Bloomberg. Palmeris is chairman of European battery maker InoBat.
Half cooked
Labor leader Keir Starmer tells Sky News the UK should negotiate an ‘improved’ Brexit deal with the EU. According to the opposition leader, a new trade deal is crucial for the British economy. “We were promised an oven-ready deal and got something that, frankly, was half-baked.”
Source: BNR
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