ST ATHAN, Wales/GAYDON, England (Reuters) – In three cavernous former Royal Air Force hangars at an old airbase in Wales, luxury carmaker Aston Martin is forging ahead with construction of a new vehicle assembly plant.
The paint shop is in, robots are being unpacked, and production of the company’s critical new sport utility vehicle is on track to start this year – Brexit deal or no deal.
“I still have to believe that we’ll get to a proper and right decision because a no-deal Brexit is frankly madness,” Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Reuters at the company’s Gaydon headquarters in England, where designers are working on a diverse lineup of vehicles for the 2020s and beyond.
Headlines have focused on plant closures and job losses ahead of Britain’s divorce from the EU.
Nissan has scrapped plans to build its new X-Trail SUV in the country, while Honda will close its only UK car plant in 2021 with the loss of up to 3,500 jobs – though it said the decision was not related to Britain’s exit from the EU.
However many auto companies – from luxury marques like Aston Martin to mass-market brands such as Vauxhall – are working on ways to survive after March 29.
On the outskirts of London, workers at Vauxhall’s operation in Luton are preparing to produce a new line of commercial vans following fresh investment from the brand’s owner PSA which they are counting on to sustain over 1,000 jobs.
While post-Brexit market conditions remain a big unknown, Vauxhall boss Stephen Norman told Reuters Britain’s exit from the European Union could present an opportunity to increase the brand’s market share. He is pursuing a marketing campaign to boost demand for the company’s modestly priced cars and SUVs.
The continued investment by some carmakers and the potential sales upside seen by Vauxhall reflect the conflicting decisions and opportunities that brands face depending on their size, their customers and where they are in the production cycle.
All automakers in Britain will anyway have to find ways make Brexit work, even if only in the short term.