Why Honda is closing Swindon

The reasons behind Honda's announcement are clear, the UK and Europe are small players in terms of the company's global sales. But what next for Swindon?

C By Chris Wright

20 February 2019 2 min read

THE question of Honda’s commitment to its manufacturing plant in the UK has come up many times.

I asked during the economic slumps of the 1990s and late 2000s, as well as more recently in terms of Brexit. The answer has always been that the company is in it for the long term – through thick and thin.

Honda has always made the point that it builds plants locally without taking any government incentives.

Something of a shock, then, that it announced the closure of its Swindon plant in 2021 with the loss of 3,500 jobs.

A shock, but no surprise.

It may be convenient for some to jump on the “I told you so Brexit bandwagon”, but this is something of a red herring – the problem is more global.

For instance, over the past 20 or so years, Ford’s decision to halt vehicle production in the UK, GM’s to cease Vauxhall cars assembly at Luton, PSA’s ditching of its plant at Ryton were all based on economic or business conditions.

It is the same for Honda. It’s plant was built as a hedge against tariffs into the EU – actually the recent EU-Japan trade deal has rendered this obsolete so it could be argued as much to blame as Brexit.