No-deal Brexit may doom Nissan’s Sunderland plant as reality belatedly bites

Extending the transition period may not help. The problem is that the government’s negotiating stance is based on magical thinking. James Moore asks: will the risk of kicking Sunderland off a cliff serve as a wake-up call?

Is Nissan’s ultra-efficient Sunderland plant set to be sacrificed on the government’s no-deal altar? (AFP/Getty)

The cheerleaders for no-deal Brexit now have an image to splash across their flags: picture a red, white and blue Nissan Qashqai hatchback being driven coldly and deliberately off a cliff. Splash.

Nissan, which also makes the electric Leaf, and the Juke, in Sunderland, has signalled that its plant there may be done if the UK fails to strike a trade deal with the EU.

Well, duh. Suddenly finding your exports face the application of 10 per cent tariffs that previously weren’t there is obviously going to cause a problem.