Formal request to the UK government. The production of electric cars in the UK is at risk. The group hypothesizes some adjustments to the agreement signed by London and Brussels.
The Stellantis group, which controls the Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat brands, has asked the British government to renegotiate part of the Brexit trade deal with the EU and change those rules that threaten the production of electric cars in the United Kingdom. “If the cost of manufacturing electric vehicles in the UK becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, operations will close down,” Stellantis said in a brief before a House of Commons committee. For the BBC, it is the first time that a car company has openly asked the government to renegotiate the terms of the agreement.
The group urged the conservative executive led by Rishi Sunak to reach an agreement with the EU on the extension of the current rules on the origin of automotive components until 2027, thus postponing the change scheduled for 2024. From next year, in fact, in under the “deal” agreed when London left the bloc, 45% of the value of an electric vehicle must come from Britain or the EU to avoid incurring tariffs. Otherwise, Stellantis points out in the document sent to the parliamentary committee examining the prospects of the British electric vehicle industry, tariffs of 10% will be applied between the Kingdom and the EU. This would make production and exports uncompetitive with Japan and South Korea.
A government spokesman assured that Britain wants to remain competitive in the automotive sector. While according to the Guardian today the Minister of Industry and Commerce Kemi Badenoch and the top management of Stellantis should meet who in February presented a “response to a consultation conducted by a UK parliamentary committee on batteries for the production of electric vehicles”.
The group announced that the document provides the London government with an overview of the risks for the automotive industry in the country and “some possible indications on how to adjust the timing of the trade and cooperation agreement”, signed by London and Brussels to regulate relations between Great Britain and the EU after Brexit, in order to resolve the problems. Stellantis also recalls having invested in the English plant in Ellesmere Port which will begin production of small electric vans this year.
This article is originally published on lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it
