Revving up the doubt

Two new stories have cast doubt on the future of carmaking on Wearside if Britain and the EU fail to negotiate a Brexit settlement.

Yesterday we reported that Nissan warned that a hard Brexit would have ‘serious implications’ for the carmaker’s Sunderland factory.

The Japanese firm, which employs about 8,000 people in the UK, said Britain crashing out of the EU’s single market and customs union into World Trading Organisation (WTO) rules would be detrimental to its operation.

Nissan uses its UK operations to export to the EU and benefits from being able to trade freely without customs checks or extra tariffs while Britain is a full member.

The company said in a statement: “As a sudden change from those rules to the rules of the WTO will have serious implications for British industry, we urge UK and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade.

Now today we report that Mercedes-Benz scrapped plans to start building cars at the city’s Nissan plant after the UK voted to leave the EU.

It has been reported that Mercedes’ outgoing chief executive Dieter Zetsche told attendees at the Paris Motor Show he had begun negotiations with the Japanese firm about the possibility of building Mercedes-Benz cars at Sunderland plant before the 2016 referendum, but dropped the idea after the country voted to leave the EU.

There is nothing that divides our readers’ opinions as much as articles on Nissan’s future in the city,

Some regard the stories as scaremongering, others as a pointer towards post-Brexit economic turmoil.

However, all readers should be agreed that the Government now needs to make every effort to ensure Nissan and other foreign car manufacturers stay in Britain.