Japan's Honda to shut UK car plant, as Brexit looms

Honda will shut its UK plant with the loss of 3,500 jobs, the Japanese car maker announced Tuesday as the global auto industry faces "unprecedented changes" and the UK economy hits the skids on Brexit uncertainty.

The factory in Swindon, southwest England, which is Honda's only EU plant, will shut in 2021 "at the end of the current model's production lifecycle", the company said as carmakers worldwide increasingly invest in greener electric vehicles over diesel cars.

Business Secretary Greg Clark described Honda's decision as "devastating" and "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".

Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to Honda's president to "express her disappointment at the decision," according to her Downing Street office. Katsushi Inoue, Honda's chief officer for European regional operations, said the decision had "not been taken lightly".

The firm blamed "unprecedented changes in the global automotive industry" for the decision but it comes amid investment uncertainty in Britain ahead of the country's departure from the European Union next month.

Analysts said an EU-Japan trade agreement signed recently had likely also played a part in Honda's decision.

Clark said that while Honda's decision was made for "commercial" reasons, it was nonetheless "devastating... for Swindon and the UK".

He added in a statement: "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."
Speaking earlier in Tokyo, Honda president Takahiro Hachigo told reporters: "I'd like you to understand this is not related to Brexit." Clark later told parliament that "we must accept" Honda's stated reasons, but added "the motor industry, Japanese investors and Honda in particular have been very clear for many months that Brexit is an additional worry at a difficult time."