Nissan’s UK business tough to sustain without Brexit trade deal – COO Gupta
TOKYO, Nov 18- Any final exit by Britain from the European Union that worsens business conditions through increased tariffs would threaten the sustainability of Nissan Motor Co’s UK operations, the Japanese car maker’s chief operating officer cautioned. Nissan, which employs 7,000 people at Britain’s biggest auto plant in Sunderland, north-eastern…
By Tim Kelly and David Dolan
TOKYO, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Any final exit by Britain from theEuropean Union that worsens business conditions throughincreased tariffs would threaten the sustainability of NissanMotor Co’s UK operations, the Japanese car maker’schief operating officer (COO) cautioned.
Nissan, which employs 7,000 people at Britain’s biggest autoplant in Sunderland, north-eastern England, in June urged for an”orderly balanced Brexit”. Its latest warning, however, comes asthe EU cautions Britain it has less than 10 days left to securea deal that will govern trade from next year.
“If it happens without any sustainable business caseobviously it is not a question of Sunderland or not Sunderland,obviously our UK business will not be sustainable, that’s it,”Nissan’s COO Ashwani Gupta told Reuters on Wednesday.
Almost 11 months after it formally quit the union, Britainand the EU have still not worked out a deal that will affectnearly $1 trillion in annual trade following a transition periodthat has kept custom rules in place.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned his top ministersthat a trade agreement is far from certain, but that Britainwould thrive with, or without, a deal.
Nissan in March said it will push ahead with a52-million-pound ($69 million) expansion at Sunderland to buildits new Qashqai sports utility vehicle.
When it announced the plan in 2016, Nissan, which builds itLeaf electric cars there, said Britain had reassured it Brexitwould not affect its competitiveness.
But tariffs resulting from a no-deal Brexit would raisecosts for Nissan, while any delay in parts supply from overseasdue to new customs checks could slow production.
Gupta said Nissan was not seeking compensation from Britainfor costs incurred from any no-deal Brexit, contradicting pressreports that it and Toyota Motor Corp would do so.
“We are absolutely not thinking that and we are notdiscussing it,” he said.
On a separate plan announced by Johnson to move up a UK banon new petrol and diesel cars and vans to 2030 from 2035, theNissan executive said his company was ready to respond.
“That is not only the UK’s transition plan, every country istalking about electrification. We are ready.”($1 = 0.7544 pounds)(Reporting by Tim Kelly and Dave Dolan in Tokyo, additionalreporting by Joe White in Detroit; Editing by Himani Sarkar)