INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesHonda UK is closing its Swindon plant by 2021, with the loss of about 3,500 jobs
Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan are also cutting production and jobs
So what's going onHonda is a big lossHonda's Swindon plant is the UK's fourth-largest car factory
Honda Civic hatchbacks are made there
The model was the third most widely produced car in the UK in 2017, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).The
Swindon plant was established in 1985
But in recent years, it has operated at less than full capacity, citing falling demand from Europe
That caused Honda to suspend a production line with a capacity of 100,000 units in 2014
Brexit uncertaintyJapanese car producers, including Nissan, have said that Brexit uncertainty is not helping them "plan for the future"
Nissan recently opted to build the next X-Trail model in Japan, rather than in Sunderland
But, Honda said that the plant closure in Swindon wasn't related to the UK's decision to leave the European Union
It said that restructuring would bring it closer to key markets such as China or the US
In a statement, Business Secretary Greg Clark echoed that it was "a commercial decision" for the company
Manufacturing companies rely on complex supply chains across Europe, allowing them to trade parts and produce cars "just in time" for
Industry figures have suggested that any additional tariffs placed on car exports after Brexit could negatively affect business
A tariff is a tax paid on goods crossing borders
They have also called for clarity for EU automotive workers in the UK
The SMMT estimates that 10% of people employed in the car industry are from elsewhere in the EU
Back to JapanAnother thing affecting car manufacturers is a new trade deal between the EU and Japan that came into force in February
It will see tariffs on cars exported from Japan to Europe reduced to zero over the next 10 years.In a recent report, consulting firm LMC
Automotive estimated that more than 730,000 cars built in the UK in 2018 were for Nissan, Toyota and Honda - nearly half of all light
That could encourage Japanese companies, such as Honda, to redirect jobs and investment back home, leaving UK car manufacturing at risk
The director of global production forecast at LMC also said that if the UK were to leave the EU without a deal, cars made in Japan could,
under the new EU-Japan trade deal, end up costing less to import into the EU than those produced in the UK
Falling Chinese demandIndian-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) confirmed in January that it would be cutting 4,500 jobs, with most coming from
its UK workforce.It said that it was facing a different challenge in the Asian market: a sales slowdown in China.Passenger vehicle
wholesales fell by 17.7% year-on-year to 2.02 million units, according to the latest figures from China's Association of Automobile
For 2018 as a whole, sales dropped by 4.1% - the first annual decrease since the early 1990s
Analysts have said US-China trade tensions could also make 2019 a challenging year for car companies.The two countries have been locked in
an escalating trade war, imposing duties on billions of dollars worth of one another's goods
Shift away from dieselIn 2018, sales of new diesel cars in the UK fell by nearly 30%, according to the SMMT
The government had previously introduced tax breaks on diesel cars, when Gordon Brown was chancellor, but sales have been falling since 2016
Prof David Bailey, from Aston University, in Birmingham, said that fewer diesel cars were being purchased for two main reasons: the
environment and consumer confusion.The Volkswagen "diesel-gate" scandal showed that many diesel cars were producing higher levels of
nitrogen oxides (NOx) on the road than in laboratory tests
Nitrogen oxides are associated with breathing difficulties
Diesel cars typically produce less CO2 than petrol vehicles
But with an increased focus on air quality in urban areas and on NOx as a contributor to pollution in cities, diesel is facing a backlash.In
the UK, diesel cars that fail to meet the latest emissions standards now face an extra charge, while a number of European countries,
including the UK, have announced bans on both new diesel and petrol vehicles in the future.With doubts over the resale value of diesel cars,
taxation and where they might be able to be driven, Prof Bailey added, consumer confusion had dragged on sales.Electric revolutionHonda said
the decision to close its Swindon manufacturing plant was down to changes in the car industry and the need to launch electric and hybrid
The global stock of electric cars rose to more than three million in 2017, up from 14,260 in 2010, according to the International Energy
Agency.Jim Holder, editorial director of What Car magazine, told TheIndianSubcontinent News the UK played a "relatively small part" in their
Image:A quick history of the British car industry, by economist Dan CoffeyJLR builds the hybrid Range Rover at its factory in Solihull, West
Midlands, while Toyota produces hybrid versions of the Corolla at its plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire.Nissan manufactures the Leaf electric
car at its plant in Sunderland
It was the best selling electric vehicle in Europe in 2018, with 40,000 made in Sunderland and sold across the continent
But, relatively low sales of the vehicles in the UK, the fall in the value of the pound and cuts to government grants for buyers could make
manufacturers build electric cars elsewhere, Mr Holder said.China is generally seen as the world leader in electric vehicle production, as
well as the largest market for cars.The Chinese government has encouraged production
And rules introduced in 2019 banned setting up companies that make only combustion-engine cars
The new guidelines also mean major manufacturers could be punished for failing to meet quotas for zero-emission and low-emission cars.In
low-carbon technology.But consumer take-up of plug-in cars is now falling behind the EU average, according to the latest figures from the
European Automobile Manufacturers' Association
The government has said it wants to make the UK "the best place in the world" to own an electric vehicle.However, in 2018, it ended grants
Business Select Committee criticised the decision to remove subsidies for less polluting cars, as well as the lack of charging points in the
UK.And with relatively high purchase costs and many unknown factors surrounding the UK's charging infrastructure, motorists may need more
persuasion to make the switch
