GENEVA: Production of BMW’s Mini will still be disrupted if there is a delay to Brexit, the carmaker’s CEO said on Tuesday, signaling the auto industry faces upheaval even if Britain avoids crashing out of the European Union without a withdrawal deal on March 29.
Britain’s car industry, which employs around 850,000 people and is largely owned by foreign manufacturers, has been rushing through plans to cope with the potential disruption of a no-deal Brexit, such as building up inventories and in some cases organizing plant closures around Brexit day.
However, Prime Minister Theresa May said last week that if UK lawmakers once again rejected her Brexit deal, she would offer them a series of votes that could lead her to ask Brussels for a delay.
BMW said in September it was moving the annual maintenance shutdown for its Mini plant in Oxford, southern England, to April in case of disruption caused by Brexit.
“We have made preparations. If Brexit is delayed, we can postpone some measures, but the early summer break remains scheduled for April,” CEO Harald Krueger said at the Geneva car show on Tuesday.
Shutdowns and stockpiles take time and money to arrange, as for example employee holidays and suppliers are affected, making them hard to move.
And so, while carmakers are keen to avoid a no-deal Brexit, they also do not want the process to drag on.
BMW made 234,183 cars in Britain last year, out of the country’s total production of about 1.5 million.
just like to get certainty as quickly as possible,” Johan van Zyl, president and CEO of Toyota Europe said at an event late Monday, echoing recent comments from UK luxury sports car maker Aston Martin.
Zyl said Brexit planning had come at a “huge cost” and warned Britain needed to secure a frictionless trade deal with the EU.
“If anything happens between the EU and UK that will have a negative impact on competitiveness of the UK operations, it will put the future in doubt,” he said, referring to the entire UK car industry.
Japan’s Toyota made 129,070 cars at its Burnaston plant in central England in 2018 and is currently ramping up production of its new Corolla model.
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Peugeot and Citroen maker PSA Group, was more relaxed about a potential Brexit delay, saying he was in favor if the time was used to find a deal.
Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche, meanwhile, was hopeful a deal could be reached.
“It’s a game of poker. I am an optimistic person, and I hope that a no-deal Brexit is not realistic,” he said.
BMW: Mini output will still be disrupted if Brexit delayed
BMW: Mini output will still be disrupted if Brexit delayed
- Britain’s car industry employs around 850,000 people and is largely owned by foreign manufacturers
- While carmakers are keen to avoid a no-deal Brexit, they also do not want the process to drag on
Oman money supply rises 6.4% to $68.6bn in November
JEDDAH: Oman’s money supply climbed 6.4 percent to 26.4 billion Omani rials ($68.6 billion) in November, signaling solid liquidity conditions and continued growth in bank deposits, official data showed.
The increase in broad money — a measure that includes cash in circulation and bank deposits — was driven by a 12.2 percent rise in cash and demand deposits, alongside a 4.1 percent increase in savings and time deposits, the Oman News Agency reported.
The latest reading follows steady gains earlier in 2025, with money supply up 6.1 percent in the three months through August. This was supported by a 6.9 percent rise in narrow money and a 5.8 percent increase in quasi-money. The trend reflects sustained liquidity conditions and stronger deposit growth across the banking system.
The expansion in monetary aggregates points to continued liquidity and policy support for private-sector lending, as Oman advances fiscal and economic reforms under its Vision 2040 strategy.
“During the same period, currency in circulation increased 1.9 percent, while demand deposits rose 14.1 percent,” the ONA report stated.
At conventional commercial banks, the weighted average deposit rate in Omani rials declined to 2.50 percent in November from 2.73 percent a year earlier, while the weighted average lending rate eased to 5.45 percent from 5.67 percent over the same period.
The overnight interbank lending rate averaged 3.92 percent in November, down from 4.56 percent a year earlier, reflecting a decline in the weighted average repo rate to 4.5 percent from 5.30 percent, influenced by US Federal Reserve policy shifts.
Meanwhile, total assets of Islamic banks and windows reached about 9.3 billion Omani rials by the end of November, accounting for 19.4 percent of the Gulf state’s total banking sector assets.
“This marks a 12.3 percent increase compared with the same period in 2024,” ONA reported, citing data from the Central Bank of Oman.
Total financing by Islamic banking units rose 10.3 percent to around 7.5 billion rials, while deposits increased 10.9 percent to approximately 7.3 billion rials by the end of November.
The November data follows the International Monetary Fund’s 2025 Article IV consultation report, released earlier this month, which highlighted the continued resilience of Oman’s economy amid global uncertainty.
The IMF cited steady growth in non-hydrocarbon sectors, low inflation, and broadly sound fiscal and external positions, underscoring the effectiveness of Oman’s coordinated economic and financial policies.
