British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy took another blow on Sunday when Nissan Motor Co canceled plans to make its new SUV in northern England amid continued uncertainty over the country’s future relations with the EU.
Nissan said it decided not to build the X-Trail model at its existing UK plant, canceling plans announced two years ago after May’s government made undisclosed concessions designed to ensure the carmaker’s ability to compete after Brexit.
The company said it instead plans to consolidate production of the next-generation X-Trail at its plant in Kyushu, Japan, where the model is currently produced. Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, England, which employs 7,000 workers, will continue to make Nissan’s Juke and Qashqai models.
“While we have taken this decision for business reasons, the continued uncertainty around the UK’s future relationship with the EU is not helping companies like ours to plan for the future,” Nissan Europe chairman Gianluca de Ficchy said in a statement.
Less than two months before Britain’s scheduled withdrawal date, the government does not have an approved agreement on the rules, conditions and terms that will replace the 45 years of frictionless trade that came with being an EU member.
Business leaders have expressed huge concerns about foreign investment, jobs and economic growth taking a hit if the country crashes out of the bloc on March 29 without a divorce deal.
May’s government has refused to rule out a no-deal Brexit, saying that doing so would weaken her position with EU negotiators. Parliament voted last week to give her more time to try to win concessions from the bloc.
Carmakers have been some of the most outspoken critics of the continuing uncertainty over Brexit, because they rely on “just in time” manufacturing techniques that continuously supply plants in Britain with parts produced on the continent. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said last week that the industry was on “red alert” after investment and production plunged.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced global cuts of about 4,500 jobs, with the lion’s share coming in the UK. JLR, Honda Motor Co and BMW AG have all announced plans to idle their factories in the days after Britain is set to leave the EU in hopes of avoiding potential chaos at the borders.
Nissan said the decision to build the SUVs in Japan would reduce investment costs in the early stages of the project. It said “the current workforce” in England would not be affected, leaving in doubt the additional jobs government and union officials had been counting on.
The announcement also confirmed an ongoing trend of carmakers thinking twice about future investments in Britain.
Nissan confirmed its change of heart days after SMMT, the trade group for Britain’s auto industry, issued a stark assessment about the impact of Brexit, warning that exports are at risk if the UK leaves the EU without an agreement.
Investment in the industry fell 46 percent last year and new car production dropped 9.1 percent to 1.52 million vehicles, in part because of concerns over Brexit, the motor manufacturers said.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes described the threat of a no-deal Brexit as “catastrophic.” The drop in investment only foreshadows what could happen, he said.
“Ultimately, it comes down to what we need, as soon as possible, is that clarity,” Hawes said. The industry “is going in the wrong direction, even though we have so many competitive advantages as a sector globally... But we still operate in that global environment and while there is uncertainty, investments pause.”
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS