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Jaguar Land Rover CEO: Wrong Brexit deal will cost thousands of UK jobs

BIRMINGHAM, England — The wrong Brexit deal could cost tens of thousands of jobs, the boss of Britain's biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover warned on Tuesday, saying he had no idea whether his plants would be able to operate after Britain leaves the European Union next year. Ralf Speth also said that the company would not be able to build cars if customs checks meant that the motorway to and from the southern English port of Dover, which is used to transport components, becomes a "car park" due to snarl-ups of people no longer able to move freely among EU countries. Speth made the warning at a conference in Birmingham, central England, speaking shortly before Prime Minister Theresa May, who is battling to have her so-called Chequers Brexit plan accepted by many in her Conservative Party as well as the EU ahead of Britain's departure from the bloc on March 29. "A thousand (jobs were) lost as a result of diesel policy, and those numbers will be counted in the tens of thousands if we do not get the right Brexit deal," warned Speth, referring to redundancies made earlier this year at the firm. "Currently I do not even know if any of our manufacturing facilities in the UK will be able to function on the 30th," he said. The boss of JLR, which built nearly a third of Britain's cars last year, also said long-standing issues around low productivity in Britain could be compounded by a Brexit agreement which made the country less competitive. "It is thousands of pounds cheaper to produce vehicles for instance in Eastern Europe than in Solihull, and what decisions will I be forced to make if Brexit means not merely that costs go up but that we cannot physically build cars on time and on budget in the UK?" he said.Reporting by Costas Pitas

The UK votes for Brexit and it will impact automakers

It's the first morning after the United Kingdom voted for what's become known as Brexit – that is, to leave the European Union and its tariff-free internal market. Now begins a two-year process in which the UK will have to negotiate with the rest of the EU trading bloc, which is its largest export market, about many things. One of them may be tariffs, and that could severely impact any automaker that builds cars in the UK. This doesn't just mean companies that you think of as British, like Mini and Jaguar. Both of those automakers are owned by foreign companies, incidentally. Mini and Rolls-Royce are owned by BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata Motors of India, and Bentley by the VW Group. Many other automakers produce cars in the UK for sale within that country and also export to the EU. Tariffs could damage the profits of each of these companies, and perhaps cause them to shift manufacturing out of the UK, significantly damaging the country's resurgent manufacturing industry. Autonews Europe dug up some interesting numbers on that last point. Nissan, the country's second-largest auto producer, builds 475k or so cars in the UK but the vast majority are sent abroad. Toyota built 190k cars last year in Britain, of which 75 percent went to the EU and just 10 percent were sold in the country. Investors are skittish at the news. The value of the pound sterling has plummeted by 8 percent as of this writing, at one point yesterday reaching levels not seen since 1985. Shares at Tata Motors, which counts Jaguar and Land Rover as bright jewels in its portfolio, were off by nearly 12 percent according to Autonews Europe. So what happens next? No one's terribly sure, although the feeling seems to be that the jilted EU will impost tariffs of up to 10 percent on UK exports. It's likely that the UK will reciprocate, and thus it'll be more expensive to buy a European-made car in the UK. Both situations will likely negatively affect the country, as both production of new cars and sales to UK consumers will both fall. Evercore Automotive Research figures the combined damage will be roughly $9b in lost profits to automakers, and an as-of-yet unquantified impact on auto production jobs. Perhaps the EU's leaders in Brussels will be in a better mood in two years, and the process won't devolve into a trade war. In the immediate wake of the Brexit vote, though, the mood is grim, the EU leadership is angry, and investors are spooked.

Jaguar prices 2020 F-Pace range, starting at $46,225

The 2020 Jaguar F-Pace lineup includes two new limited-edition models, and every model comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay standard. The crossover has finally acquired its most crucial numbers, the MSRPs. Starting price for the entry-level F-Pace 25T, powered by the lesser 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder Ingenium engine begins at $45,200. Add the unchanged $1,025 destination charge and the total comes to $46,225, which is $400 more than the 2019 model. The Premium, Prestige, and R-Sport trims go up by the same amount for both the 25T and the 30T models — the 30T powered by the 296-hp version of the 2.0-liter Ingenium turbo four. Premium increases by $550, Prestige by $350, and R-Sport by $300. That makes the least-dear 25T Premium a $48,825 affair. The 30T Portfolio model costs $64,625 for 2020, a $300 bump over 2019. The S raises the stakes by the same amount, to $63,125. The flagship F-Pace SVR with its 5.0-liter supercharged V8 and 550 hp tacks on the largest price jump of $620, for a total of $81,625. The limited edition trims are the previously announced 300 Sport and Checkered Flag. In the U.S., the 300 Sport comes exclusively with the 296-hp 2.0-liter Ingenium four-cylinder, and exterior revisions like dark satin gray trim on the grille and window surrounds, side vents, mirror caps, rear fascia and door finishers. Inside, yellow contrast stitching on the instrument panel and seats marks the beast, plus embossed logos on the front headrests. The full-fat Touch Pro navigation with Connect Pro comes standard. The crossover sits on 22-inch gray wheels and wears plenty of 300 Sport badges throughout. Three colors are available: Yulong White, Indus Silver and Santorini Black. It takes $63,025 to start the bidding. The Checkered Flag Special Edition is based on the R-Sport and adds plenty of gloss black, including 20-inch gloss black wheels. Color choices here are Yulong White, Eiger Grey and Santorini Black. The 247-hp four-cylinder get the nod, along with 18-way adjustable front seats, the Touch Pro navigation without Connect Pro but with the Meridian audio. It costs $59,4258