UK is ‘not open for business’ says Stellantis boss amid Luton closure
Eurig Druce added that current EV targets are ‘out of sync’ with customer demand.
The boss of Stellantis has said that the UK is ‘not necessarily open for business’ amid the group’s planned closure of its Luton production facility.
The move, which puts over 1,000 jobs at risk, was announced last month as part of wide-spreading structural changes at the carmaker. Ending a 120-year production run, the closure of the Luton site will see electric van production moved to Ellesmere Port instead.
Speaking at Car Dealer Live at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, UK boss Eurig Druce said that Stellantis was in a ‘really, really tough position’ when deciding to close the Luton facility and added that ‘nobody comes into this industry to be in a scenario where you have to close plants’.
“It’s a really really tough position for us to have to do. It’s not something we enjoy doing. Clearly we would prefer to be in a position with the UK where we can invest, and of course we are investing into UK production.”
He added: “We are trying to get a scenario where we can grow our manufacturing volumes here in the UK.”
“The UK is not necessarily open for business. Increasingly we see some of the impact of decisions, particularly in regards to things like Brexit.
“We have to make sure that we have continued free trade with Europe for example because there is very little point manufacturing in the UK for UK supply alone. That [exports] is what generates the boost to GDP which we need in the UK.”
Druce also added that the ZEV mandate – which requires a certain proportion of a car manufacturer’s production to be electric – was ‘out of sync’ with the current demand for electric vehicles.
He added: “To be completely clear, we’re fully supportive of the transition to going electric but what we can’t have though is a scenario where a piece of government legislation is out of sync with consumer demand and is the same time not as created as part of a 360 plan.”
