London - The British leave campaign has hit back at warnings from foreign car companies about Brexit – claiming those same firms will be “desperate” to strike a trade deal with Britain if it quits the EU.
American motor giant Ford claimed in a memo to its 14 000 UK staff that remaining in the EU would help create an “even stronger business and create a more secure future” for employees.
Bosses of Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, BMW and Vauxhall also said Brexit would put jobs and investment at risk.
Ford warned Britain could lose access to free trade deals, and that hefty tariffs of up to 10 percent could be imposed on imported vehicles and 2.7 percent on exports.
Ford said: “This would significantly impact our business. The time taken to renegotiate trade agreements with the EU and other countries also risks leading to a prolonged period of uncertainty.”
The car industry has been one of Britain’s brightest success stories since the financial crisis, supporting 800 000 jobs in the UK and contributing £15.5 billion (R335bn) to the economy.
Trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders added that the strong British car industry could be jeopardised if the public votes to leave the EU.
The Remain campaign is hoping the dire warnings from some of the biggest car manufacturers will unnerve voters ahead of the referendum.
But on Monday night Eurosceptics rejected the gloomy prognosis put forward by the industry. Professor Patrick Minford, co-chairman of Economists for Brexit, and a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, said: “The British car industry is hugely successful and has competed with all comers in the world.
“I don’t see why it can’t thrive outside the EU. The Germans and the French will be desperate to do a trade deal with us because the UK is such a key market.”
Aston Martin thinks differently
And deviating from the car industry’s script the boss of Aston Martin told employees that leaving the EU would make British exports ‘more competitive’ because of the likely devaluation of the pound.
In a memo to its 1800 UK staff, the firm – which is jointly owned by Italian and Kuwaiti investment firms – weighed up the pros and cons of Brexit.
Chief executive Andy Palmer said it would probably have a “negative effect on UK GDP growth in the near term”.
But he added the impact “is likely to be offset in part by the depreciation in the pound making our exports more competitive”.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Eurosceptic Tory MP, said: “Car manufacturers are doing much better outside of the single market. They are refusing to see this and are just drinking their own bathwater. It’s good to see that Aston Martin is being more phlegmatic – much like James Bond would be.” The Leave camp argues firms like BMW, Volkswagen and Peugeot are so reliant on the UK market that will rush to strike a free trade agreement with Britain.
They also point out that sales outside the EU are growing faster to rapidly growing countries like China and India than within the struggling single market. A record number of cars – 77.3 percent of total production – were exported, with 1 227 881 vehicles leaving the UK. Demand from the EU grew 11.3 percent, with 57.5 percent of cars sold to the continent.
But sales of British-made cars to countries outside the EU are growing more rapidly, with demand from the US rising by 26.5 percent.
Daily Mail