If 41 per cent of last week’s respondents are right, JLR’s decision to build Discovery models in a new Slovakian factory lays down a warning about what could happen if Brexit goes badly.
Just under a third (31 per cent) of the 811 respondents to last week’s poll thought the move a logical manufacturing decision and not a cause for alarm, followed by a fifth of readers who thought it a snub to UK manufacturing. The remaining eight per cent opted for ‘none of the above’.
As well as shifting production to a new facility in Slovakia, JLR will also retool its Solihull plant to make new Range Rover models.
Reaction to the Poll has been strong, with 28 responses to date.
Mike said: “Like any successful enterprise, JLR needs to become a global company then that will mean manufacturing abroad, but I would have much preferred they built a manufacturing base in the Far east or the Americas to supply those markets with vehicles. Slovakia is relatively close to home and will effect manufacturing in the UK, this does appear to be a response to Brexit and shows how worried JLR are about possible tariffs.”
Graham Sturgess added: “I suspect that one of the other contributing factors in the move is the very finite space at Solihull, despite a massive new building project to the rear of the factory. Yes, UK production is expensive, but we do have the skills. But the masters in India may not care too much about where the product is actually made.”
Al De La Hay could see the move happening, observing that “it was always JLR`s intention to move production of Land Rover overseas. It is not until now that it has been made known `where`. As for Brexit, it remains to be seen whether tariffs & logistics costs force JLR & other remaining manufacturers production bases overseas, or if the government will offer initiatives (bribes from the public purse) for them to remain.”
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