United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum
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Worrying about the consequences of a so-called no-deal-Brexit is driving Europe's automobile companies around. In a rare joint statement, they have now warned against an unregulated departure from the United Kingdom. The auto industry threatened in such a case, an economic "earthquake," it says in the statement published Monday by 23 European automobile associations.
The automotive industry in Europe would be "significantly" disturbed by additional bureaucratic hurdles, warned the head of the Association of the Automotive Industry, Bernhard Mattes.
Britain and the EU would therefore have to take all "necessary steps" to avoid "no-deal-brexit", Mattes said. The boss of the French car lobby CCFA, Christian Peugeot, stressed that the Brexit was "not only a British problem". "We are all affected in the European automotive industry, and even beyond," he added.
According to the associations, Britain is the commercial target of around ten percent of the total vehicles produced on the European continent.
Customs could mean more significant burdens
A British exit from the EU without an agreement with Brussels would result in an "earthquake-like change in the conditions for trade" with cars, according to the joint statement of the associations. The automakers warn, among other things, of billions of dollars in tariffs and their impact on consumers in the UK and the remaining EU countries.
If necessary, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to complete Brexit, which has already been postponed twice, on 31 October, even without an agreement with the EU. However, the British Parliament has passed a law designed to exclude a no-deal Brexit. Without agreement with Brussels, the resignation should therefore be postponed for another three months.
