Hard Brexit could mean more investment in Nissan Sunderland plant

Tariffs on cars imported to the UK such as Ford and Volkswagen would make their cars more expensive to consumers, giving the likes of Japanese-owned manufacturers like Nissan a competitive edge who assemble in the UK.

The contingency plans, as reported by the Financial Times, say the company could boost its 4% market share to as high as 20%; producing and selling one in five cars in the UK auto industry.

The scenario would mean ‘doubling down’ on the UK and closing its Barcelona van plant as well as its manufacturing in France. It is one of several contingency plans developed to prepare ahead of Brexit and was made before Nissan’s new chief executive, Makoto Uchida, was appointed late last year.

Nissan has denied the claims, with a spokesperson for its European operation stating: “We deny such a contingency plan exists. We’ve modelled every possible ramification of Brexit and the fact remains that our entire business both in the UK and in Europe is not sustainable in the event of WTO tariffs… We continue to urge UK and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade.”

Despite recently investing £100 million upgrading its Sunderland plant and launching the new Juke into production, the car maker has cautioned it would be forced to pull out of the UK in the event of a hard Brexit.

The new Juke has been developed specifically for European markets according to Nissan, with Sunderland the being only production location for this second-generation crossover.

Nissan employs 7,000 people at its Sunderland factory, as well as a further 28,000 people who work in the company’s UK supply chain. The total number of British jobs supported by Nissan is 40,000, including its UK dealer network, design studio and sales & marketing.

The car maker recently signed a deal to support the introduction of 2,000 all-electric Nissan LEAFs for drivers who use the Uber app.

The fleet of 40kWh LEAFs, which are manufactured in Sunderland and can travel up to 168 miles on a single charge, will be offered to drivers as part of Uber’s Clean Air Plan.