BMW warns it could close Mini and Rolls-Royce factories if hard Brexit causes customs delays BMW has issued the starkest warning yet from a major business of the consequences of a hard Brexit by warning […]

BMW has issued the starkest warning yet from a major business of the consequences of a hard Brexit by warning that lengthy custom checks could force the closure of its UK factories.

A senior executive at the German car maker said significant delays in importing components once Britain has left the EU could end production at its UK plants, which include the factories making the Mini and Rolls-Royce cars.

Airbus

The warning is the latest evidence of international companies with major operations in Britain going public with their Brexit concerns after Airbus said it would leave the UK if no transition deal is struck with Brussels.

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“If at the end of the day the supply chain will have a stop at the border, then we cannot produce our products in the UK.” BMW executive Stephan Freismuth

Last night, lobby groups representing business leaders from the US, Canada, India and Japan made the rare move of issuing a joint statement to warn London that failure to solve the issues thrown up by Brexit urgently would put trade worth £100bn at risk.

A day after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt slapped down Airbus for its “inappropriate” intervention, Business Secretary Greg Hands rebuked his Cabinet colleague by saying any company supporting large numbers of jobs in Britain was “entitled to be listened to with respect”.

Time-sensitive

In comments reported by the Financial Times, Stephan Freismuth, customs manager for BMW, said the introduction of customs delays in the company’s time-sensitive production process could leave it with no choice but to leave Britain.

He said: “We always said we can do our best and prepare everything, but if at the end of the day the supply chain will have a stop at the border, then we cannot produce our products in the UK.”

The possibility of Brexit ending UK-based production of two symbolic brands like Mini and Rolls Royce will be seen as an incendiary contribution to the debate about the type of deal the Government should strike with the EU and its likely effect on jobs and the economy.

7,000 jobs

BMW has invested some £2bn in its UK operations in the last two decades and has four British plants that employ a total of 7,000 people. Alongside the factories making Mini and Rolls-Royce cars, it has a metal pressing facility in Swindon and an engine plant near Birmingham, which supplies engines to BMW factories in Germany.

Like other manufacturing industries, car makers use so-called “just in time” methods which are reliant on components arriving for assembly just a matter of hours before they are required.

Executives across the industry are concerned that any requirement for customs checks once Britain leaves the single market and customs union could introduce unpredictable delays and slash profitability.

Nissan, which runs Britain’s largest car factory in Sunderland, has previously warned that an interruption to production of just six minutes per day would destroy profitability at the plant.

‘Lack of clarity’

Mr Freismuth said BMW was looking for solutions to the issues raised by Brexit. He said: “We don’t want to give up our UK plants.”

But he added: “If you have to stop for one day, it costs a lot of money, but at the end if there are more stops our management have to decide how this can be sorted.”

In a statement, BMW did not distance itself from Mr Freismuth’s comments and said the “lack of clarity” about customs arrangements remained a “cause for concern”. The company said: “Clearly if parts cannot physically get to a factory at the expected time, that factory will not run as smoothly and reliably as is desirable.