Brexit casts shadow over stands at Geneva car show

FE Team | Published: March 03, 2019 23:29:56

LONDON, Mar 03 (Reuters): The usual mix of sports cars, offroaders and family saloons will be on display at the Geneva motor show this week, but with one big difference from previous years - they may be about to become harder and costlier to make, and more expensive to buy.
If Britain leaves the European Union on March 29 without a withdrawal deal, all bets are off on what will happen to the just-in-time production system on which the European auto industry relies, or to demand for vehicles across the continent.
And the situation has just got more complicated. Last week, British Prime Minister Theresa May raised the prospect of a short delay to Brexit, potentially disrupting the plans that carmakers have put in place to cope with a no-deal divorce.
"I'm sure I speak for most of the country when I say, we just want to get it done. We just want to know where we are and get on with it," Andy Palmer, the chief executive of British sports car maker Aston Martin, told Reuters.