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Brexit Prompts BMW to Reset Maintenance Work on Mini Plant
BMW AG says it will move up next year’s routine maintenance work on its main Mini plant in Oxford, England, to avoid possible production problems caused by the U.K. leaving the European Union.
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BMW AG says it will move up next year’s routine maintenance work on its main Mini plant in Oxford, England, to avoid possible production problems caused by the U.K. leaving the European Union.
The plant normally shuts down for maintenance work for a week or two during the summer. BMW says it will begin one month of such work next year on April 1, just as Brexit occurs.
Britain and the EU still have no agreement about how to proceed when the U.K. leaves the EU on March 29. Prime Minister Theresa May is pushing for a deal that would preserve tariff-free trade with the bloc. But many Britains want a clean break that would enable the U.K. to impose new restrictions on immigration.
Carmakers throughout the U.K. have worried about new tariffs and customs procedures that would be triggered by a “hard” Brexit. Idling the Oxford plant as the transition begins presumably would give the facility time in which to overcome short-term parts-supply issues before production resumes.
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