Japanese automaker Honda is to sell its car plant at Swindon, in the UK, to logistics giant Panattoni, a company spokesperson said over the weekend, as the new owner is reportedly making plans for a large investment at the site.
Honda Swindon
The Swindon site is Honda's only facility in the UK and about 10% of the automaker's 1.5 million vehicle output is produced there including its Civic hatchbacks.
The decision to sell the plant comes two years after it announced that intended to end production there. Around 3,500 people are employed at the Swindon facility.
Read more: Honda confirms closure of UK plant in 2021
Honda, which has seen declining European sales, has said the closure of the plant has no connection with Brexit and that it needs to refocus its activities in regions where it anticipates making sales.
Panattoni has said it will make an investment of £700 million (€821.8 million) into logistics development with the aim being to create new employment, once Honda has decommissioned the plant, most likely next Spring.
The announcement comes on the heels of decisions by electronics companies Panasonic and Sony to relocate European headquarters from Britain to the EU, and Hitachi's announcement that it was shelving its nuclear power project in the UK citing Brexit-related issues.
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