Rolls-Royce warns vehicle production could be drastically affected by Brexit

The boss of Rolls-Royce has said its manufacturing plant at Goodwood could suffer major problems as a result of Brexit.

The luxury carmaker uses a just-in-time production system, which means it doesn’t tend to hold on to parts for longer than 24 hours, but that could be radically affected by the UK leaving the EU.

It has already taken measures to prepare for a no-deal Brexit on March 29, educating suppliers about new import procedures and investing in new IT systems. It is even preparing to fly in certain parts instead of getting them shipped in, should port deliveries become bogged down as a result of custom issues.

Speaking to Autonews Europe, Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: “You can plan for whatever you want but you can’t store up weeks of parts, and if the logistics chain breaks it will affect production.

“You only need to miss one component and you can’t finish the car.”

The manufacturer is putting preparation measures into place because just eight per cent of its parts are produced in the UK, with 32,000 parts imported from more than 600 suppliers to create its vehicles. More than 35 truck journeys are made across the English Channel each day to help feed production, too.