In the latest blow to the U.K. car industry as Brexit approaches, Honda Motor Co. announced Tuesday it will end production at its only car plant in the country by the end of 2021 — a move that would eliminate 3,500 jobs.
"As we need to boost the product lineup of electric vehicles in Europe, we've come to think that it will be difficult to manufacture such vehicles there due to competitiveness and other factors," Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo told a news conference at the firm's headquarters in Tokyo.
As environmental regulations are set to be strengthened in China, where the automaker has several production bases, Hachigo said more environmentally friendly models will be manufactured in China and exported to Europe in the future.
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