Ford warning shows Britain must stay in EU, UK lawmaker says
Automotive News Europe | March 4, 2015 16:23 CET
BRUSSELS (Bloomberg) --
Ford Motor Co.'s global use of its British manufacturing presence shows the importance of the country staying in the European Union, Catherine Bearder, a UK member of the European Parliament, said.
Bearder's comments came after Ford of Europe CEO Jim Farley said the UK needs to stay in the EU to keep its manufacturers at the forefront of global production. Asked what would happen if the country left the 28-nation bloc, he said "we really hope that doesn't happen.
Farley said one out of three engines that Ford produces globally are made in the UK, where his company has about 14,000 workers. "We really believe that the UK being part of the EU is critical for business," he said.
Farley made the remarks in a BBC Radio interview broadcast Tuesday.
If Britain did pull out of the EU, it would "not necessarily" change its operations because Ford's UK engineering team would remain important for the firm, he said.
Bearder, from the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in Britain's coalition government, responded to Farley's comments by saying: "Access to the EU single market is central to the success of UK manufacturing."
"The UK must lead reform in Europe, not leave and throw the economic recovery away," Bearder said by e-mail.
Britain's EU membership has become a central topic in the run-up to May's knife-edge general election.
Automakers with production in the UK are increasingly worried about the prospects of the the country leaving the EU.
Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to negotiate better terms for the UK and put the results to voters in an in-or-out referendum by the end of 2017. The Liberal Democrats, the most pro-EU of Britain's main parties, say a referendum risks harming investment in the UK and a popular vote should only be held if the balance of power in the bloc is significantly altered.
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