Honda and Ineos
Two pieces of news from the car industry neither of which have anything to do with Brexit. Ineos, run by the Brexit supporting Sir Jim Ratcliffe has decided to build its Grenadier 4x4 on the Franco-German border rather than in Bridgend, a big blow for Wales. Honda is warning that it may have to halt production at its Swindon plant temporarily because of disruption at the UK’s ports, which is hitting its just in time supply chain.
Both show just how important supply chains are to the car industry. Hambach on the French border with Germany is at the very centre of Europe’s automotive industry and surrounded by thousands of factories making parts and components. Honda in Swindon isn’t, there aren’t enough suppliers in the UK to make anything like all its components. Which is why that there are real worries that cars made in the UK won’t count as British after Brexit, as so many of their components come from abroad.
The industry has an old saying “you need a continent to make a car”, they need the resources and capabilities of a huge economic area to produce. Is the UK big enough to do that? We will see.
https://jonty.substack.com/