Toyota could lose $78mln weekly revenue on no-deal Brexit

Toyota said that it could lose around GBP 60 million ($78 million) in weekly revenues from its plant in the UK, should the country crash out of the European Union (EU) without a deal.

“We make 600 cars a day in the UK five days a week,” Toyota Europe’s CEO Johan van Zyl said in an interview at the Paris Motor Show on Tuesday.

“At around 20,000 pounds revenue per car, you can work it out. If you disrupt that, it’s very concerning,” van Zyl added.

CEO van Zyl already said on Monday that the UK departure from the EU without inking a trade agreement would result in a logistics interruption, prompting a temporary halt on operations at Toyta’s plant in Burnaston.

The Japanese automaker announced a GBP 240 million investment in its UK plant last year, which manufactures its Auris models.

Around 87% of the 144,000 vehicles made last year were shipped to the EU, according to a spokesman.

“We’re hopeful there’ll be a deal” van Zyl said, adding that “we have a bit of breathing room before the next major investment decision that’ll come within the next three years, but not a lot.”

On a side note, while Toyota’s concerns remained over the so-called “hard Brexit,” the car giant hailed the progress yielded by the talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as the deal would bring about stability amid escalating global trade conflicts.

“We hope that this agreement paves the way for some other agreements to be reached,” van Zyl told Bloomberg TV.