Honda Europe presses for frictionless trading post-Brexit but vows to keep Swindon plant
Honda Europe today said a no-deal Brexit would hurt its competitiveness at its plant in Swindon, but that it has no plans to relocate from the UK.
Speaking to Radio 5 Live, senior vice president of Honda Europe, Ian Howells, said: "Really it hasn't come up that we would actually have to look at putting Swindon somewhere else.
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"The logistics of putting a factory the size of Swindon somewhere else would be huge."
He said bosses in Japan continued to support production in Swindon.
The news that Honda has no plans to relocate will be a welcome relief for Theresa May as she continues in her Brexit negotiations with Europe.
A number of firms have threatened to transfer their operations to the continent in the event of a hard Brexit or a no-deal Brexit, whereby Britain crashes out of the EU on terms set by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Consumer goods giant Unilever stirred controversy when it announced it would relocate its operations from the UK to the Netherlands, although it denied that this was because of the UK's decision to leave the EU and said it was to simplify its corporate structure.
The company is facing a revolt from shareholders, including insurer Aviva, who are concerned that scrapping its dual structure will lose it the status of a British company and result in some investment funds becoming forced sellers of the shares.
Read more: Jaguar Land Rover moves factory to three-day week due to Brexit 'headwinds'
Earlier this month Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth said "tens of thousands of jobs" could be lost in the sector if there was a no-deal Brexit, and that it would cost the company £60m in production a day. Yesterday it moved one of its factories to a three-day week due to weakened market demand, blaming Brexit and the transition away from diesel.