Interesting article on the Autocar site today. It is about Swindon and the effects of the forthcoming closure of the Honda car plant there.
It seems it won't be completely bleak for the workforce. The Brexit that caused the closure (despite what they claim) has also left a shortage of workers for other industries so there will be other jobs in the area.
Meanwhile, it's all looking bright for Sunderland. Nissan's car plant was in similar danger of closure but they have announced an expansion to build electric cars and a new plant building electric vehicle batteries. The Government have negotiated this a part of a deal involving a large input of public money. Nobody will admit how large but given that it is in the North of England where the Tories are ingratiating themselves with the voters, we can safely assume that we are putting a huge amount in.
The battery plant will be vitally important for the future of the British car industry - trying to import large numbers of batteries from Europe or elsewhere would be a logistical nightmare.
The other site in danger is (or hopefully "was") Vauxhall's plant down the road from me in Ellesmere Port. It looks like the "Home of the Astra" will become the "Home of Electric Vans". Not particularly exciting but a sensible move in the current climate.
More exciting would be building a different electric vehicle.
This I really like:
Although the eyes are a bit scary.
It is an E-Legend EL1 - modelled on the Audi Quattro. There will only be 30 of them and they will sell for about £1 Million each - shame - it's just out of my price range.
It mustn't be confused with the Honda Legend which, unlike the Civic, Accord, Jazz and CR-V, has never been built at their Swindon plant.
And now, it never will.
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