Japanese car manufacturing giant Honda confirmed today the reports that it will be closing its factory plant in Swindon in what is being seen as a further blow to the UK's car industry following the decision by Nissan not to produce its X-Trail series in the company's Sunderland plant two weeks ago.
The plant, the fifth largest in the UK, currently produces 150,000 cars a year and will close at the end of the current model's production lifecycle in 2021. The closure will mean the loss of 3,500 jobs.
Honda Swindon
Honda plant in Swindon. Source: Andrew Matthews/PA Archive/PA Images
Katsushi Inoue, the chief officer for European regional operations and president of Honda Motor Europe, said: “In light of the unprecedented changes that are affecting our industry, it is vital that we accelerate our electrification strategy and restructure our global operations accordingly."
“As a result, we have had to take this difficult decision to consult our workforce on how we might prepare our manufacturing network for the future. This has not been taken lightly and we deeply regret how unsettling today’s announcement will be for our people.”
Ian Howells, senior vice-president for Honda in Europe, said "We're seeing unprecedented change in the industry on a global scale. We have to move very swiftly to electrification of our vehicles because of demand of our customers and legislation."
"This is not a Brexit-related issue for us", he added, "it's being made on the global-related changes I've spoken about."
Greg Clark, the UK business secretary, said Honda’s plan was “a devastating decision” for Swindon and the UK. “This news is a particularly bitter blow to the thousands of skilled and dedicated staff who work at the factory, their families and all of those employed in the supply chain.”
He added that Honda’s move was a “commercial decision based on unprecedented changes in the global market”.
"The automotive industry is undergoing a rapid transition to new technology. The UK is one of the leaders in the development of these technologies and so it is deeply disappointing that this decision has been taken now."
It is expected that Honda will move production back to Japan, in part because doing so can guarantee tariff-free exports to the EU following a trade agreement that came into force on 1 February 2019.
Analysts have said that while the uncertainty surrounding Brexit will have played some part in the decision, there were other factors at play, such as the EU-Japanese agreement and wider issues in the automotive industry in general.
Honda has said that it will begin consultations with employees and the Unite union in the coming months to minimise the impact of the closure.
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