Government Proxy Viktor Stromček explains the Jaguar Land Rover investment. (source: SITA)
He was reacting to a rumour reported by the Sme daily which cited anonymous sources at Reuters newswire. Stromček said, as quoted by the SITA newswire, that JLR was in support of the UK remaining in the European Union.
The carmaker also announced, through its spokeswoman Lisa Palmer, that the original plans to build a factory in Slovakia [near the city of Nitra] proceed well and that works have continued regardless of the uncertainty of the result of the June 23 referendum in the UK.
There is no reason to connect the Jaguar investment with the referendum on the potential withdrawal from the EU by Great Britain, according to Stromček. He stressed at a June 22 briefing that the contract between Slovakia and JLR was signed at a time when it was already clear that the Brexit referendum would take place.
Reuters’ sources stated that the carmaker suspended the launch of extensive works on the Slovak plant announced last December. Two insider sources also informed that JLR estimates its profits to weaken by 1 billion pounds by the end of this decade if the UK leaves the European Union. The worst-case scenario is described in internal documents elaborated by main economist David Rea, which both the sources have seen. The documents outline the potential impact of Brexit – suggesting that in its wake, the UK will return to the rules of the World Trade Organisation when trading with Europe. These rules would also mean a 10-percent export customs duty and an import duty of about four percent on car parts.
