BRATISLAVA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- British car maker Jaguar Land Rover will not stop planned investment in Slovakia, said the company, refuting information from media that its investment in Nitra, western Slovakia would halt due to the potential risk of a Brexit.
Company spokesperson Lisa Palmer said Thursday about the false reports, "this is speculation. Our plans to build a plant in Slovakia are going well. Jaguar Land Rover wants Britain to remain in a reformed European Union, and the results of the referendum will have no influence over the building of a factory in Slovakia."
The Slovak government said wasn't worried about the investment, either.
"It isn't true that Jaguar Land Rover would halt its investment in Slovakia. It still applies that the first car will be produced at the factory in 2018," announced Viktor Stromcek, Slovak government proxy for strategic investments.
Slovakia's fourth car plant should lead to the creation of 15,000 new jobs and an investment of 1.4 billion euros (1.59 billion U.S. dollars). The investment contract states nothing concerning the risk of Britain leaving the European Union.
Meanwhile, according to information published Thursday by Slovak daily Pravda, Jaguar Land Rover would only cancel its plans if the value of the British pound became weaker than the euro for a period of six months. The current exchange rate is 1 pound to 1.30 euros, and analysts don't expect parity even if Britain votes to leave the 28-member bloc.
