JAGUAR Land Rover will
Reuters says the move by Britainโs biggest carmaker, to prepare for any disruption resulting from Brexit, was taken a few months ago at a time when the departure date – since extended to April 12 – was March 29.
Automotive firms face a number of possible risks under a disorderly Brexit, including delays to the supply of ports and finished models, new customs bureaucracy, the need to recertify models and an up to 10
Prime Minister Theresa Mayโs efforts to obtain a longer extension have also ruined contingency plans for some of them.
Shutdowns are generally organised far in advance so employee holidays can be scheduled and suppliers can adjust volumes, making them hard to move.
With Britainโs political leaders still deadlocked over Brexit and some EU states questioning a further departure delay, Culture Minister Jeremy Wright said May would continue talks with the opposition Labor Party to try to find a compromise solution.
BMWโs UK Mini and Rolls-Royce plants are also shuttered this week, as is Peugeotโs Vauxhall factory, which brought forward summer shutdowns to April.
Together Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, Rolls-Royce and Vauxhall built more than 750,000 of Britainโs 1.52 million cars last year.
Honda has also scheduled six โnon-production daysโ in April but has declined to say on which dates they will take place.
Britainโs once-buoyant car sector has since 2017 posted sharp falls in sales, output and investment.
Jaguar Land Rover has already had to cut output last year as it faces declining sales, partly as customers shun diesel vehicles.
Overwhelmingly foreign-owned, the Britain-based car industry has become increasingly frustrated as a stable and attractive investment environment becomes mired in a deep political crises, risking free and frictionless trade.
At least 25 percent of Britainโs auto engine capacity is also closed as BMWโs central English Hams Hall factory continues a four-week shutdown while Jaguarโs Wolverhampton site stops production for the week as part of Brexit preparations.
Honda engine production will also stop on six days this month.