Report: GM Could Abandon U.K. Production After Brexit Decision

According to automotive analysts, General Motors is the automaker most likely to shift production to mainland Europe in the wake of the Brexit decision. The reason cited for the potential move is rising costs; GM currently builds Vauxhall and Opel vehicles in northwest England.

If the European Union starts imposing import tariffs on U.K. exports, the production shift would protect the automaker, but closing the U.K. plant wouldn’t happen until 2021 to coincide with the arrival of the Opel Astra’s replacement. GM currently produces the Astra in Ellesmere Port, which may be at risk because it sources many of its parts from elsewhere in the world.

“It has a low anchorage, so in that sense, it’s the most vulnerable,” Garel Rhys, emeritus professor of motor industry economics at the U.K.’s Cardiff Business School, told Automotive News Europe. The percentage of parts localization at the Ellesmere Port facility is around 25 percent, which is the lowest of any volume automaker in the U.K.

Closing the Ellesmere plant may not hinder Opel Astra production too much, as the compact hatchback is also built in Gliwice, Poland. Currently, Vauxhall’s Vivaro van is produced at its Luton plant in England, but there hasn’t been any word on whether that plant will close down or remain open when Brexit takes effect.

Source: Automotive News Europe (Subscription required)

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