Thread by @MrWayneyB

@Femi_Sorry Right, I've been seeing many posts (predominately from 'leavers' saying that "it's all about future investments, everything will be fine". So here's my two-cents (based on my 7+ year knowledge of the car industry... [thread]

@Femi_Sorry 1/n Yes it is based solely on the X-Trail, which is a fairly lower-volume car in the UK. Many are saying that this won't affect the Qashqai which is Nissan's biggest European seller, though

@Femi_Sorry 2/n and indeed, it probably won't have any affect on the CURRENT Qashqai.

However, the next generation car is expected to be launched in 2020/2021. This will be a serious car for Nissan, against stiff competition in an ever-rising segment

@Femi_Sorry 3/n: The next-gen X-Trail and next-gen Qashqai will be sharing the same platform. Similar platforms are used by manufacturers to help reduce costs in creating and manufacturing their output

@Femi_Sorry 4/n: Eg, the VW MQB platform is used with a majority of the entire group's volume sellers (covering Audi, VW, Seat, Skoda). It's all about lowering costs and shared reductions

@Femi_Sorry 5/n: I believe the new X-Trail and Qashqai will be utilising Nissan's P32 platform. This is spread across multiple Renault models too. Whilst cost-saving, the build of a new platform in any manufacturing plant requires a high upfront cost

@Femi_Sorry 6/n: Therefore, Nissan/Renault will be looking to reduce where these costs are associated, particularly based on helping reduce the end-cost for user (especially with the higher R&D investments going into petrol and hybrid).

@Femi_Sorry 7/n Additionally, there's cries of "but Nissan already agreed with UK Gov that things won't be affected" and "Nissan have other things to worry about with the Carlos Ghosn 'issues'"

@Femi_Sorry 8/n: Yes, agreed. However the Japanese board already are anti-Brexit because of the extra costs it will place on them. Regardless of what's happening with Ghosn, the board can still (and will still) override any Ghosn agreements that have already bene created

@Femi_Sorry 9/n: The reduction of a output from Sunderland won't just affect that area, either. Spare parts, warranty items, out-of-warranty items, serviceable items on second-hand cars, will all become prohibitally more expensive too

@Femi_Sorry 10/n: Having models manufactured overseas will also mean additional costs from the dealer network to have even a 'test drive model' within their dealership (which yes, these costs are paid for by the dealer, not the manufacturer).

@Femi_Sorry 11/n: Increased costs, and tighter sales targets (faced with overall reduction on car-sales, not necessarily Brexit-related), could lead to reduction of staff necessary to hit those quarterly sales-targets

@Femi_Sorry 12/n: And then you have the multi-franchise dealers... the dealerships that sell cars from different manufacturers. If the amount of money they earn [via commission] from a Nissan will be reduced, why would they push that manufacturer over another car that they can sell?

@Femi_Sorry 13/13 Whichever way you look at it, Nissan shifting X-Trail manufacturing will have huge implications. Maybe not in 2019, but by 2021 you will see a paradigm shift in the UK's auto output.