Saar: JLR’s CEO has revealed that a bad Brexit deal would cost the company more than £1.2 billion profit every year.
Britsh carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is and has been stuck for a while in the midst of uncertainties surrounding the Brexit aftermath. Last year, the majority of the UK population voted in favour of UK leaving the European Union (EU). Courtesy of that, one of the major setbacks that the automotive industry in the UK could face is the end of the free trade agreement between the UK and the EU. However, the two parties haven’t reached an agreement yet on what changes will come in once Brexit comes into effect from January 1, 2021.
More developments will surface in the month of October this year during the EU Summit. But JLR has called on the UK government to urgently provide certainty for business including guaranteed tariff-free access and seamless trade with the EU.
Ralf Speth
In a press release, Ralf Speth, who is the CEO of Britain’s largest vehicle manufacturer, JLR Automotive Plc, said:
“We urgently need greater certainty to continue to invest heavily in the UK and safeguard our suppliers, customers and 40,000 British-based employees. A bad Brexit deal would cost Jaguar Land Rover more than £1.2 billion profit each year. As a result, we would have to drastically adjust our spending profile; we have spent around £50 billion in the UK in the past five years – with plans for a further £80 billion more in the next five. This would be in jeopardy should we be faced with the wrong outcome.”
He further added:
“If the UK automotive industry is to remain globally competitive and protect 300,000 jobs in Jaguar Land Rover and our supply chain, we must retain tariff and customs-free access to trade and talent with no change to current EU regulations.”
Apart from being the largest vehicle manufacturer in the UK, JLR is also the biggest investor, exporter and employer in the industry. It has more than 40,000 employees in the UK and over 260,000 jobs in the UK supply chain. In the UK, one in three cars sold is either a Jaguar or a Land Rover. As far as the mainland Europe market is concerned, JLR sells 20 per cent of its cars there. If Brexit doesn’t come out to be supportive, the company could lose out to its competitors from countries like Sweden and Germany, both of which are part of the EU.
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