Honda to shutter UK factory amid electric cars push

Japanese auto manufacturer Honda will shutter a factory based in the United Kingdom amid a push to consolidate and focus on electric and self-driving vehicles, Reuters reports.

The manufacturer plans to close its Swindon car plant in England in 2022, which would ultimately lay off 3,500 workers. The plant currently makes the hatchback version of the Honda Civic

{mosads}The closure will be the second for Honda, which more than a year ago announced it will also be closing one of its Japanese plants in 2022 in an effort to tighten production and refocus on new vehicle technologies, according to Reuters.

Other issues pressing on the company’s sales in Europe included declining demand for diesel sales and tougher regulations.

Sources told Reuters that the automaker’s decision to close the plant is not due to the looming question of the country’s status amid Brexit negotiations.

Honda will now directly ship its cars to the European market from Japan. This will be made possible through the newly determined EU-Japan trade agreement, which struck all tariffs on cars from Japan to the continent, said Reuters.

Other auto manufacturers have faced similar slumps in Europe, especially as sales for heavy carbon-emitting diesel cars have shrunk.

Two weeks ago Nissan, another Japanese auto company, canceled plans to build its X-Trail sports utility vehicle in the U.K. In January, Jaguar Land Rover, a British company, said it would be cutting 10 percent of its workforce.