Aston Martin’s Brexit fears
‘NO DEAL WITH EU COULD STOP CAR PRODUCTION’
WARWICKSHIRE car maker Aston Martin has given a warning about the consequences of the UK failing to secure a Brexit deal – suggesting it could be forced to halt production of its luxury cars.
Addressing the House of Commons’ Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, the firm’s chief financial officer Mark Wilson said the impact of leaving the EU without a trade agreement would be “semi-catastrophic”.
However, an official statement from the company later said Mr Wilson’s comments had been “taken out of context”.
New cars built in the UK are tested by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), whose approval means they can be sold across the EU.
But manufacturers are warning that this set-up will cease if Brexit happens without a deal. Mr Wilson told the committee that Aston Martin faces “quite a stark picture” if it needs to obtain certification elsewhere because VCA type-approval is not accepted by the EU.
He said: “We need to make sure that that typeapproval carries over, it has validity and it has recognition and it has the equivalence that it has today.
“Otherwise, there are significant costs involved for us. Not only in resourcing to another typeapproval ... but also the semi-catastrophic effect of having to stop production because we only produce cars in the UK.”
The firm has plants in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, told the committee that car makers may struggle if they are forced to obtain type-approval elsewhere in order to continue selling in the EU.
He said: “When you reapply under this new authority, you have to meet all the changes to regulation that have evolved from when you first got that vehicle certification. It may be that regulation has changed to such an extent that you could not pass that regulatory framework.”
Mr Hawes warned that UK motorists could be charged an extra £1,500 for new cars imported from the EU if 10 per cent tariffs are imposed.
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: “An extreme Brexit risks bringing parts of our thriving car industry to a standstill. People’s jobs are on the line, but still the hard Brexiteers are peddling the fantasy that we could crash out of Europe with no deal.
Aston Martin later said Mr Wilson’s response to a question regarding vehicle type approval was “taken out of context”.
In a statement, the company said:“As a small volume manufacturer, Aston Martin relies heavily on the Vehicle Certification Authority (VCA) for its type approval in Europe as our technical footprint outside the UK is minimal.
“Aston Martin have sought clarity from the Government as to the status of the VCA as an approved European-type approver post-Brexit and have asked them to prioritise securing agreement to the ongoing validity of VCA issued Whole Vehicle Type Approvals (WVTAs) here in the UK.
“Politically-motivated headlines concerning hypothetical vehicle production impacts are unhelpful to a constructive debate on a topic of utmost seriousness to the UK motor industry.”