TOKYO, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Japanese car manufacturer Honda Motor Co. confirmed on Tuesday that it will shut down its Swindon car plant in Britain in 2021, its only factory in Europe, sharply reducing local job opportunities.
"We have judged it is difficult to competitively produce electrified vehicles in Europe," Honda President and Chief Executive Officer Takahiro Hachigo told a press conference in Tokyo.
Honda's decision, which will eliminate 3,500 local jobs in Britain, added to the list of the latest Japanese companies to cut their operations in the country following uncertainty of the upcoming Brexit, as Britain is set to leave the European Union on March 29 with a potential "no-deal" scenario.
Honda's announcement follows Nissan Motor Co., another Japanese automaker, which canceled its plans to produce its next-generation SUV at its Sunderland plant in northeastern England.
The latest string of Japanese automakers' exit from their British factories was also affected by a free trade deal between Japan and the European Union, under which the EU will cut 10-percent tariffs on vehicles imported from Japan in 2027.
In 1989, Honda began building engines in its Swindon factory, where its car production lines went into full operation in 1992.
