The car-manufacturing giant Nissan has hailed the Brexit deal, saying the agreement will give it a “competitive advantage” as it committed to producing new electric vehicle batteries at its Sunderland plant.
Chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta praised the deal saying it gave the company the chance to “redefine the industry” and described new customs procedures resulting from Brexit as “peanuts”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the commitment to Sunderland was “a great vote of confidence in the UK and fantastic news for the brilliant Nissan workforce in Sunderland and electric vehicle manufacturing in this country”.
Nissan was one of the most vocal business opponents of a no-deal Brexit, saying the imposition of tariffs would threaten the viability of its UK manufacturing base.
“Brexit for Nissan is positive, and being the largest automaker in the UK, we will take this opportunity to redefine the industry here,
“Brexit gives us the competitive advantage, not only in the UK, but outside the UK also. Because in how many [manufacturing] locations in Europe are the batteries localised? Very few,” Mr Gupta said.
Speaking the regards to the changes in customs procedures, he said: “The sort of problems that we are seeing in the ports is peanuts, frankly. For a global manufacturer that is running 150 markets and 40 plants around the world, to have additional documentation and to fill out a form at the border, it’s nothing.
“We were prepared for it, we had upgraded our software and our processes, it’s okay. Of course when you bring a change you need to have agility, to adapt to the new change – that’s the beauty of the organisation.”
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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