In an interview with BBC online, Nissan’s boss has again warned that future investment in car manufacturing at the company’s Sunderland plant is threatened by an unfavourable exchange rate and the exchange rate risks associated with the UK’s position outside of the euro currency area.
According to the report, Carlos Ghosn made it clear that the plant’s future would depend on whether the UK adopted the euro currency.
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“When the next investments come in the next couple of years, we hope we don’t have to go through the same kind of analysis [as that involving the decision to make new Micra at Sunderland],” Ghosn told BBC online.
He added: “We would like, as much as possible, to have Sunderland producing a lot of cars, but at the same time making cars that would allow us to make a profit.”
Nissan’s Sunderland plant is the most efficient in Europe in terms of output per employee, but its position has been undermined by exchange rate losses on cars shipped to the eurozone area.
Nissan considered making the new Micra – which shares its platform and some engines with the next generation Renault Clio – in alternative European locations two years ago (most notably Renault’s Flins plant) but eventually decided on Sunderland.
Analysts say that the decision was a close one.
