Nissan will cancel plans to build an X-Trail SUV in the UK: Sky News

LONDON (Reuters) – The Japanese automaker Nissan is canceling the manufacturing of the next model of its X-Trail sport utility vehicle in Britain, less than two months before the departure of the European Union from the country, the broadcaster announced on Saturday. Sky News.

For the first time, Nissan announced, four months after Britain voted in June 2016, to manufacture a new SUV model in Britain, which was seen as a major vote of confidence for the company. future of the country's manufacturing sector.

The main production facility of the current X-Trail is located in Japan, while the Nissan factory in Sunderland, in the north-east of England, manufactures the smallest Qashqai SUV and other models.

"The precise details of Nissan's impending announcement were unclear this weekend, but sources said it would likely initially imply abandoning the announced X-Trail production plans." in the fall of 2016, "Sky announced.

A Nissan spokesman based in the UK declined to comment.

According to Sky, the announcement announced Monday is not expected to result in any immediate job losses at the Sunderland plant because the X-Trail is not yet manufactured there, but would spark doubts about Nissan's future investments in Britain.

In addition to the X-Trail, Nissan announced in 2016 that it would build the next-generation Qashqai SUV in Britain after receiving government badurances on Brexit, which was considered at the time as a boost for Premier Theresa May.

However, as the UK government has so far failed to negotiate a harmonious exit plan from the European Union, car manufacturers have been less inclined to use Britain as a European manufacturing center.

Investment in the UK auto industry has halved compared to last year, according to data released Thursday, and Nissan's auto production in Britain has declined more than 10%.

According to the company of car manufacturers and traders, leaving the EU on March 29 without a transition agreement aimed at preserving the fluidity of the pbadage of finished parts and vehicles across the EU borders would result in "permanent devastation" "for the British car industry.