Ford puts Brexit boom in driver’s seat
BRITAIN'S Brexit boom has continued after Ford became the latest motor giant to commit to staying in the UK after it leaves the EU.
Ford has joined Nissan and Vauxhall in pledging to continue to manufacture vehicles beyond the end of the transition period in 2020.
The announcement came as record trade figures for the UK were revealed, with the deficit between exports and imports down to just £10billion.
The figures revealed that exports from the UK rose 10.7 per cent to a new record of £627.6billion between March 2017 and the end of February 2018.
And a report by HSBC said that UK trade will double by 2030.
HSBC's new trade forecast also predicted that UK goods and services exports will increase by 10 per cent in 2018 – the fastest pace of growth since 2011.
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: “The UK is entering a period of unprecedented economic opportunity, with latest figures showing a surge in exports together with optimism for continued export growth in the years ahead.
“As an international economic department, we are supporting UK businesses from every part of the country to succeed on the global stage and ensure this creates more jobs and prosperity in every part of the country.”
Underlining Ford's commitment to the UK, Jim Farley, executive vice president and president of global markets for Ford, said that Britain is a “fundamental part” of its operations as well as being its biggest market in Europe. He said: “We are very encouraged by the provisional transitional agreement between the EU and the UK Government.
“It is a very positive sign. I think the agreement is a significant step forward.”
Mr Farley was speaking at the global launch in London this week of the latest Ford Focus.
He said there were “many reasons” for choosing the UK to unveil the family hatchback.
He said: “We're number one in Britain. Our Fiesta has been the market leader for a long time.
“We employ thousands of people here. We have a large employee base and a lot of people working in research and development.”
Asked if Ford was sticking with Britain through Brexit Mr Farley said: “Yes, of course.”
He added: “This is such a fundamental part of our company globally.”