| Honda leaving the UK 23:15 - Feb 19 with 4100 views | Luther27 |
Is this due to Brexit or UK EU decision to phase out petrol/diesel vehicles? |  | | |  |
| Honda leaving the UK on 23:22 - Feb 19 with 4093 views | Lohengrin |
I posted this on another thread but I’ll reprise it quickly here:
I was listening to Ian Ross, the BBC’s Industrial Correspondent on Radio 4 this morning when I was driving home from Nights and he was explaining how Honda’s share of the European market as a whole has more than halved in the last decade and continues to spiral downward.
If you’re looking for a reason for the trouble in Swindon then look no further. Brexit or not they can’t give their product away. It’s game over. |  |
| An idea isn't responsible for those who believe in it. |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 23:30 - Feb 19 with 4088 views | Luther27 |
| Honda leaving the UK on 23:22 - Feb 19 by Lohengrin |
I posted this on another thread but I’ll reprise it quickly here:
I was listening to Ian Ross, the BBC’s Industrial Correspondent on Radio 4 this morning when I was driving home from Nights and he was explaining how Honda’s share of the European market as a whole has more than halved in the last decade and continues to spiral downward.
If you’re looking for a reason for the trouble in Swindon then look no further. Brexit or not they can’t give their product away. It’s game over. |
I agree....the company has stated why it's leaving...or will be, but the media still try to pin it on Brexit which concerns me as it is a distortion of the facts. Personally I feel Europe and the UK fired out a shot regarding the evils of fossil fuel vehicles without the potential impact regarding the car industry. | | | |
| Honda leaving the UK on 23:54 - Feb 19 with 4067 views | bonymine |
| Honda leaving the UK on 23:30 - Feb 19 by Luther27 |
I agree....the company has stated why it's leaving...or will be, but the media still try to pin it on Brexit which concerns me as it is a distortion of the facts. Personally I feel Europe and the UK fired out a shot regarding the evils of fossil fuel vehicles without the potential impact regarding the car industry. |
I agree 100%.
Brexit is the easy option to take the hit in the ‘blame game’ whenever anything goes pear shaped in this country ....
The BBC & Laura Kuenssberg in particular are by far the worst perpetrators of this scaremongering & I totally resent paying my TV Licence Fee to witness this left wing propaganda but that’s just modern life in the UK these days unfortunately. |  |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 23:55 - Feb 19 with 4066 views | Kilkennyjack |
Its 100 per cent Brexit related.
Look at the timing. The end. |  |
| Beware of the Risen People
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| Honda leaving the UK on 00:24 - Feb 20 with 4045 views | DJack |
| Honda leaving the UK on 23:55 - Feb 19 by Kilkennyjack |
Its 100 per cent Brexit related.
Look at the timing. The end. |
100% Brexit related, no.
Brexit and Japan EU deal a majority factor, yes. |  |
| It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 00:40 - Feb 20 with 4039 views | PozuelosSideys |
The press literally cannot help themselves with this one. Honda give umpteen reasons as to the closure and rationale behind their withdrawal from the UK. Their Regional CEO even goes on tv and specifically states that this is nothing to do with Brexit and then lists the other reasons.
There are a number of other car companies and their related supply chains you could potentially beat with the Brexit stick, but i dont believe this is one.
In fact, i remember a conversation on here last year about Airbus and how Brexit will be dooming any jobs there are in North Wales/Northern Ireland. Yet lo and behold, Airbus are now binning their flagship Super Jumbo cos they cant sell teh fcking thing due to a small order book and the fact they are years behind the curve as i pointed out at the time. [Post edited 20 Feb 2019 0:41]
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| "Michu, Britton and Williams could have won 3-0 on their own. They wouldn't have required a keeper." | | Poll: | Hattricks |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 01:17 - Feb 20 with 4008 views | Dyfnant |
| Honda leaving the UK on 23:55 - Feb 19 by Kilkennyjack |
Its 100 per cent Brexit related.
Look at the timing. The end. |
They’re moving all European production to Japan as there’s no more import tariffs. |  |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 05:02 - Feb 20 with 3975 views | Cooperman |
The decision has nothing to do with Brexit or the petrol / diesel engine related matters.
This has not come as a big surprise to some within the industry as it's a well known fact that Honda Swindon has been on its backside for many years and especially so since they mothballed one of its two production lines. That left them with 3,800 staff producing 160,000 cars per year. Nissan Sunderland by comparison produces 500,000 cars per year with double the Honda workforce. Whilst Honda have been able to make some improvements over time that have allowed them to trim down to today's figure of 3500 employees, the site is still far rom being a viable concern. Honda also have considerable spare capacity on a global basis so something eventually had to give - the plant in one of the most expensive labour markets in the world. Terrible news for the Wiltshire region and the general UK mood as a whole. |  |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 08:05 - Feb 20 with 3903 views | AnotherJohn |
It seems to me that the argument might be different if the factory were moving to Belgium, the site on Honda's only other (small) European factory. But has as been said the volume of Honda cars sold in Europe is now small.
The other thing is the FTA between the EU and Japan. You don't need an offshore aircraft carrier if a big well-lit runway has just opened on the continent. | | | |
| Honda leaving the UK on 08:44 - Feb 20 with 3875 views | JACKMANANDBOY |
Honda sell 2 million cars in China and millions in Japan and the USA, they sell 150,000 in Europe and the numbers are falling.
The Swindon plants is running at 50% capacity and Honda have stated that they want to focus on producing electric vehicles.
Brexit will not have helped but there do seem to be other factors. |  |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 09:25 - Feb 20 with 3860 views | 3swan |
I worked in the car industry for close to 50 years, in all that time there were peaks and troughs and many, many redundancies to try and balance during that time.
None of this is a big surprise, as in the UK and Europe Honda is a small player.
I have no doubt that the reasoning for their actions is not lead by Brexit but for more commercial reasons. In saying that there is no doubt that Brexit would have been part of their decision making but only a very small part. | | | |
| Honda leaving the UK on 09:59 - Feb 20 with 3833 views | Batterseajack |
If it has nothing to do with Brexit, why was the European Boss of Honda giving the following warnings on Radio 5 live back in September 2018???
Honda employs about 3,500 people at its plant in Swindon, where the Honda Civic and the CR-V are built. It keeps only an hour’s-worth of parts and relies on deliveries from about 350 trucks every day to provide the parts required to make the cars on a “just in time” basis.
Howells said that as well as meaning higher tariffs, a no-deal Brexit would cost Honda in terms of additional bureaucracy and damage productivity.
“From an administrative point of view, we’d probably be looking at 60,000-odd additional bits of documentation we’d have to provide to get product to and from Europe,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If we end up with WTO tariffs, we’d have something like 10% of costs in addition on products shipped back into Europe and that would certainly run into tens of millions. And likewise, when we’re looking at components coming the other way, again tens of millions in tariffs potentially coming into the UK.
“That impacts our productivity, certainly in terms of the flow of product, but also it does hit potentially our competitiveness. Of course if we are shipping and competing against a European manufacturer in Europe, they’re not incurring those tariffs.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/18/honda-no-deal-brexit-tariffs-sw | | | |
| Honda leaving the UK on 10:03 - Feb 20 with 3830 views | LeonWasGod |
It's bound to be part of the reason. It will have been a factor in the decision making, whatever they say publicly. Brother in law who works in automotive design side said they were having orders pulled immediately after the referendum (not Honda - they work across lots of companies). |  | | |
| Honda leaving the UK on 10:12 - Feb 20 with 3819 views | LeonWasGod |
| Honda leaving the UK on 08:44 - Feb 20 by JACKMANANDBOY |
Honda sell 2 million cars in China and millions in Japan and the USA, they sell 150,000 in Europe and the numbers are falling.
The Swindon plants is running at 50% capacity and Honda have stated that they want to focus on producing electric vehicles.
Brexit will not have helped but there do seem to be other factors. |
And I don't think anyone sensible is saying that there aren't other factors. The binary point scoring and willy waving is is a pain in the arse though. We don't seem capable of objectively assessing anything these days.
What we are starting to see is a significant spike in these types of announcements at the exact time when the Brexit uncertainty is ramped up the highest (apparent rising risk of no deal). That has to be a worry, for Brexit and Remain voters alike. | | | |
| Honda leaving the UK on 13:38 - Feb 20 with 3758 views | PozuelosSideys |
| Honda leaving the UK on 07:55 - Feb 20 by ItchySphincter |
Talk about naive.  |
I await your thought out response with interest then.. ;)
Whats more naive imo is people believing companies and highly paid execs using Brexit as a catch all excuse for changing market conditions, poor management and a lack of ability to be flexible enough to develop their product offering for consumer demands. Change or die as it were.
Anyway, cars and the associated products are notoriously peak/trough orientated, and in a society which is forever being driven to be more "green", they have to move to electric/hydrogen.
As said above, the demand in the EU is simply not there for Honda, especially in a factory operating at 67% capacity | |
| "Michu, Britton and Williams could have won 3-0 on their own. They wouldn't have required a keeper." | | Poll: | Hattricks |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 13:39 - Feb 20 with 3751 views | Cooperman |
| Honda leaving the UK on 09:59 - Feb 20 by Batterseajack |
If it has nothing to do with Brexit, why was the European Boss of Honda giving the following warnings on Radio 5 live back in September 2018???
Honda employs about 3,500 people at its plant in Swindon, where the Honda Civic and the CR-V are built. It keeps only an hour’s-worth of parts and relies on deliveries from about 350 trucks every day to provide the parts required to make the cars on a “just in time” basis.
Howells said that as well as meaning higher tariffs, a no-deal Brexit would cost Honda in terms of additional bureaucracy and damage productivity.
“From an administrative point of view, we’d probably be looking at 60,000-odd additional bits of documentation we’d have to provide to get product to and from Europe,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“If we end up with WTO tariffs, we’d have something like 10% of costs in addition on products shipped back into Europe and that would certainly run into tens of millions. And likewise, when we’re looking at components coming the other way, again tens of millions in tariffs potentially coming into the UK.
“That impacts our productivity, certainly in terms of the flow of product, but also it does hit potentially our competitiveness. Of course if we are shipping and competing against a European manufacturer in Europe, they’re not incurring those tariffs.”
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/18/honda-no-deal-brexit-tariffs-sw |
Honda only has an hour of stock on hand as it has passed the inventory issue into its supply base who now have to control warehousing in the vicinity of Swindon. | |
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| Honda leaving the UK on 16:14 - Feb 20 with 3682 views | Pegojack |
Even as an avid remainer (that's remoaner to you, Pikey), I'm willing to accept that Brexit is not the main reason for the closure. I'm fairly certain it was one factor amongst many, though. Why build cars for the European market in a country which could soon be out of the EU, subject to tariffs and border crossing hold ups when you don't have to? |  | | |
| Honda leaving the UK on 16:19 - Feb 20 with 3675 views | Highjack |
| Honda leaving the UK on 16:14 - Feb 20 by Pegojack |
Even as an avid remainer (that's remoaner to you, Pikey), I'm willing to accept that Brexit is not the main reason for the closure. I'm fairly certain it was one factor amongst many, though. Why build cars for the European market in a country which could soon be out of the EU, subject to tariffs and border crossing hold ups when you don't have to? |
Why build cars in a country planning to ban the sale of cars soon? |  |
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