Is Brexit U.K. Auto’s Waterloo?

French manufacturers, particularly those in the automotive sector, are making significant investments in robotic technology, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

The organization says that its most recent figures show that the number of robots installed in the French car industry rose 22 percent, to 1,400 units. Which results in a robot density of 940 robots per 10,000 workers.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Channel, there was an increase of 7 percent, to 700 units in the U.K., which is a robot density of 606 units per 10,000 workers.

(By way of contrast with both of those countries, know that the density in Germany is 1,150 robots per 10,000 workers.)

According to the IFR robot sales to the French auto industry have increased by an average of 7 percent per year between 2010 and 2015.

The IFR puts a positive spin on the increasing deployment of robots in France by speculating that when Brexit occurs, companies including Toyota, Nissan and Honda, which produce cars in the U.K. and export about 75 percent of them to European countries, may, if facing duties when shipping those vehicles, decide to add production capacity in places that are more conducive to them economically.

Like France.