Fluctuations in the value of the pound and euro will help Nissan decide whether to build the redesigned Almera line in the UK or elsewhere in Europe next year, Bloomberg News reported, citing Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.
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“We like to earn what we’ve made, no more, no less,” Ghosn told reporters in Tokyo, according to Bloomberg. “We would like some kind of stability” in the currencies, he added.
The pound versus euro debate last arose at the beginning of 2002 when Renault was deciding whether to build the redesigned Micra [March] in the UK or at a French plant.
In the end, a £40 million aid package from the UK government, the Sunderland plant’s high productivity record and Nissan’s belief in a stable future exchange rate saw Sunderland in north-east England win over Flins, just outside Paris, and the first production car rolled off the line on 29 November.
Bloomberg News said the UK pound fell 4.9% against the euro this year, making it more attractive for exporters from the country.
Koji Endo, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, told Bloomberg there was a 70% chance Nissan would build the Almera in the UK and that other options were factories in Spain and France.
