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TEHRAN, Feb 19 -Japanese car maker Honda is set to announce it’s closing its only British car plant in 2022 with the loss of 3,500 jobs, a lawmaker told Reuters, in the latest blow to the UK car industry as Brexit approaches.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -A closure of Honda’s Swindon factory in southern England would be its second plant shuttering in 2022. The automaker said more than a year ago it will close one of its Japan plants in 2022, in an effort to consolidate production as it focuses on new vehicle technologies.
Honda built over 160,000 vehicles at Swindon, where it makes the hatchback version of its popular Civic model, accounting for a little more than 10 percent of Britain’s total output of 1.52 million cars.
But it has struggled in Europe in recent years, and the industry faces a number of challenges including declining diesel vehicle demand and tougher regulations alongside the uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European Union, due next month.
Justin Tomlinson, a Conservative lawmaker for Swindon who voted for Brexit in 2016, said he had met with the business minister and representatives from Honda who had confirmed the plans.
“They were due to make a statement tomorrow morning, it’s obviously broken early,” Tomlinson, lawmaker for North Swindon, told Reuters.
“This is not Brexit-related. It is a reflection of the global market. They are seeking to consolidate production in Japan.”
Honda said it would not be providing any comment on the “speculation”.
“We take our responsibilities to our associates very seriously and will always communicate any significant news with them first,” the firm said.
Honda announced in October 2017 it would stop making vehicles at its Sayama plant in Japan by 2022 as it grapples with a shrinking domestic market.
Source: Reuters
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