ZCZC
BCN-21
BRITAIN-AUTO-MANUFACTURING-BUSINESS-BREXIT
UK car sector warns of o70m daily cost on Brexit no-deal
LONDON, June 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A no-deal Brexit could cost UK-based
carmakers up to o70 million ($89 million, 78 million euros) daily through
delays to production, the country’s auto sector warned Tuesday.
The industry, featuring a number of foreign carmakers including Ford,
Honda and Nissan, could be hit to the tune of o50,000 a minute in a worst-
case scenario, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders estimated in an
industry report.
“Automotive matters to UK trade and to the economy, and… if the right
choices are made, a bright future is possible,” SMMT chief executive Mike
Hawes said in a speech to the industry body’s annual conference in London.
“However, no-deal remains the clear and present danger. We are already
seeing the consequences of uncertainty, the fear of no-deal.”
Hawes added: “The next PM’s first job in office must be to secure a deal
that maintains frictionless trade because, for our industry, no-deal is not
an option and we don’t have the luxury of time.”
Former foreign minister Boris Johnson and his successor Jeremy Hunt are
battling to replace Theresa May as prime minister and leader of the ruling
Conservatives after she failed to get her Brexit deal through the UK
parliament.
Favourite Johnson insists that the UK could exit the EU on the new October
31 deadline without a deal being struck with Brussels.
Hunt has said he is also willing to accept a “no deal” departure but is
prepared to delay Brexit briefly if negotiations look like they might produce
a compromise.
Both men are however hoping to renegotiate the divorce deal May struck
with the EU last year.
BSS/AFP/HR/1115