Because of a change in the market, a company that until a few months ago had a criminal at the helm and who is currently in prison for alleged industrial-scale fraud, has made the market decision not to build cars that no one wants.
If they were going anywhere, it would be to the EU, but they are not, Nissan's taking its unwanted diesel hybrid design back to Japan, where it will sit gathering dust.
Anyone would think that car manufacturing is a unique UK problem because of Brexit.
Nissan, Honda, BMW, Toyota and the rest are here because of the skilled workforce and adaptable supply chain.
The UK is no longer the poorly skilled, unionised controlled workforce of the 1970s that existed in British Leyland under union leader and job killer, Red Robbo, the man who almost single-handedly killed the UK car manufacturing. To be fair to Robbo, the design of our cars was almost as bad as the Soviet era Skodas, while Germany and Japan roared ahead in design and manufacturing.
READ MORE: Macron Asks Abe to Help Keep Nissan-Renault Alliance Despite CEO Arrest — Report
Why not be totally honest and give the real reason behind Nissan's decision? The slowdown in China's economy, the general world slow down, the overproduction in Europe and ‘Dieselgate'.
We can lay the blame at the German manufacture, the Volkswagen Group, and the European Union's disastrous policies which killed off the diesel market.
Merkel and the German car manufacturers have been powerful lobbyists in the EU and have been very successful, until now.
Last year the EU's committee on the environment planned to tighten emissions limits for new vehicles which should send shivers down the spine of all European manufacturers, including Britain, because Mrs May's botched Brexit negotiations includes adhering to the EU's environmental standards, which ignores the technical and economic realities of the car market — and jobs.
READ MORE: BMW to Close Mini Factory in Oxford for 1 Month After Brexit — Reports
And it's not just the VW Group, BMW and Daimler that are the worst offenders, Nissan's up there as the fourth top polluting car range according to % of car sales pumping out the most noxious emissions, whose average emissions were 12 x over the limit.
In the UK, we were encouraged and incentivized to buy diesels, when in 2016 the diesel market went from 10% in 1995 to nearly 50%. I too bought a new diesel Land Rover product based on false information.
There is some bright British news, however. Aston Martin, my favourite car, is expanding in China. I had a conversation with their CEO at the launch of the last Bond movie when I asked why hadn't they moved into the Chinese market? He replied, the Chinese don't know James Bond. They do now. They have expanded on the back of positive growth numbers as the Chinese love expensive, top end, exclusive brands.
And what about other great British brands? Although BMW owns those great British icons, Mini and Rolls Royce, and VW Group owns Bentley, they are seen as great British brands and will continue to be made in Great Britain.
READ MORE: New CDU Leader, Industry Representatives Publicly Appeal to UK to Remain in EU
Car manufacturing has become a great British brand and export market. We make great cars. We make iconic cars. Our workforce is great.
The only thing that isn't great and is holding us back are Remain politicians like Greg Clark and Richard Harrington, both ‘business ministers', acting like 1970's versions of Red Robbo. Mrs Thatcher dealt with the Red Robbo's of this world, the Conservative party should deal with Clark and Harrington.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect Sputnik's position.
