All eyes on Nissan, Toyota, and Honda after Brexit deal
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The car industry dodged disaster when the UK and EU sealed a post-Brexit trade accord, but not before manufacturers announced factory closures and called off plans to make several new vehicles in the country.
More damage may still be done even with last week’s deal.
Carmakers including Nissan Motor might struggle to qualify some UK-assembled models for tariff-free export to the EU as they evaluate whether they source enough of their components locally.
Costs associated with having to switch suppliers and the burdens of customs declarations, certifications, and audits could still leave car companies convinced they’re better off investing elsewhere.
“This is still a thin deal with major implications and costs for automotive,” said David Bailey, a business economics professor at Birmingham Business School.
“Much will depend on the degree of flexibility allowed and the degree of phasing in,” he said.
The Brexit deal eliminates the risk of widespread exodus but still could fall short for carmakers with too little leeway to take on more expenses.
Any further fallout could have big implications for the UK economy.
Its car industry employs more than 860,000 people, over a fifth of whom are on staff at vehicle and parts factories. Carmakers sent £42.4bn (€46.8bn) worth of cars and components overseas last year, 13% of Britain's total exports.
The domestic market is unlikely to compensate for any lost overseas sales.
Registrations already dropped for three consecutive years before being decimated by the pandemic, plunging 31% through November.
Nissan and its Japanese peers are the companies to watch in the wake of the deal.
The outlook already was bleak before the Brexit accord was clinched.
The company recently decided against making an electric model at its Northern England factory and almost two years ago scrapped plans to build another sport utility vehicle at the same site.
Honda Motor is closing its only UK car plant next year.
Nissan and Toyota’s hybrid and electric models built in England are cut some slack in the Brexit trade deal, with the accord allowing a greater proportion of vehicle content to come from outside the UK or EU.
Still, the initial so-called rules of origin require 10 percentage points more local content than what the British sought.
It’s unclear whether Nissan’s all-electric Leaf hatchbacks built in Sunderland have enough local content to avoid levies. While Nissan welcomes the trade agreement, it will now “assess the detailed implications for our operations and products”, said Azusa Momose, a spokeswoman in Yokohama.
Toyota’s Corolla hybrid and combustion engine compact cars built in Burnaston will qualify for tariff-free export to the EU, said Sonomi Aikawa, a spokeswoman in Tokyo.
The company benefits from its engine plant in Wales, she said.
The carmakers’ tariff requirements may be affected by their plans to bring more of their battery supply chains to the region.
Electric vehicles will be given another six years to bring their amount of foreign content below 45%, the threshold petrol and diesel cars will be held to immediately.
“The timings underscore the urgent need for government to create the conditions that will attract large-scale battery manufacturing to the UK and transform our supply chains,” said Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the UK car industry’s trade group.
Other carmakers have been putting off investments in UK plants pending the outcome of trade talks.
BMW delayed work on a next-generation Mini platform due to uncertainties over Britain's trade relations with the EU.
Chief financial officer Nicolas Peter said this month that BMW would consider making Mini cars in Germany or China if tariffs undermine the business case of producing them in Britain.
Peugeot-maker PSA CEO Carlos Tavares said in March that the manufacturer, which also makes Vauxhall cars, would determine whether there was a business case for its factory in Ellesmere Port and that the company could ask the British government to compensate for any trade barriers that may arise.
BMW and PSA welcomed the trade deal while cautioning that they’d need to closely examine the agreement to assess the ramifications for their business.
“It’s hoped that the deal now gives a green light to major investments in the UK that had been stalled amid Brexit uncertainty,” said Prof Bailey at Birmingham Business School.
“There will be extra costs for the industry in terms of non-tariff barriers, but things could have been much worse,” he said.
- Bloomberg