- Title: BMW moves UK Mini plant shutdown to just after Brexit in case of no deal
- Date: 18th September 2018
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 18, 2018) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) ROY KAITCER, INVESTMENT MANAGER, REDMAYNE BENTLEY, SAYING: "There's a lot of uncertainty at the moment. I mean, nobody really knows what a 'good deal' Brexit and 'no deal' Brexit really means, but all I can say at the moment is it's leading to a loss of confidence in a number of companies at the moment.
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2018 14:31
- Keywords: uk economy brexit car industry bmw honda jaguar land rover jlr
- Location: SOLIHULL, OXFORD AND SWINDON, ENGLAND, UK
- City: SOLIHULL, OXFORD AND SWINDON, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0038Y5N9FX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: German carmaker BMW said it will move the annual maintenance shutdown period for its British Mini plant to just after Britain is due to leave the European Union in April, in case there is no Brexit deal.
Carmakers generally close their factories over the summer for a few weeks to allow for retooling and repair work as many staff take vacation and sales are at their lowest ebb in the year.
BMW said it had made the decision to schedule next year's annual maintenance period at its Oxford plant to start just after 1 April, to minimise the risk of any possible short-term parts-supply disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
While it believed this worst case scenario is an unlikely outcome, it said it had to plan for it.
Britain is due to the leave the EU on March 29 but London and Brussels have yet to agree the terms of a deal, with Prime Minister Theresa May battling to have her proposals accepted by many Brexiteers who want a cleaner break from the bloc.
BMW built nearly 220,000 cars at its southern English Oxford plant last year, accounting for 13 percent of Britain's total car production of 1.67 million units.
But carmakers are worried that Brexit may impose customs checks on parts and finished models, adding costly delays to the manufacturing process.
The automotive sector, which employs more than 850,000 people in Britain, has warned that extra costs risk the viability of production sites.
Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said on Monday that it would go down to a three-day week at its Castle Bromwich plant from October until the beginning of December, after warning about the impact of Brexit and diesel policy.
BMW said it was sticking by its British production sites, which also include a Rolls-Royce car facility, an engine facility and a fourth site which houses a press shop and sub assembly.
It said it remained committed to the only country in the world where it manufactured for all three of its automotive brands.
Also on Tuesday (September 18), Honda Europe's senior vice president warned a no-deal Brexit would cost Honda tens of millions of pounds.
In an interview with the BBC, Ian Howells said the Japanese carmaker was making preparations for a no-deal outcome.
But he added that the company had not discussed relocating its plant in Swindon, in the south-west of England. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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