Boris Johnson Says He Knows More About Car Manufacturing Than Jaguar Land Rover CEO
14 January 2019, 08:53 | Updated: 14 January 2019, 18:22
Boris Johnson has suggested that he knows more about car manufacturing than the boss of Jaguar Land Rover.
During an exclusive LBC phone-in, Nick Ferrari brought up no-deal Brexit warnings raised by Jaguar boss Ralf Speth.
"I would suggest he knows more about car manufacturing than you do," Nick said.
But Mr Johnson disagreed, saying: "I'm not certain he does."
The Mr Speth has been critical of Brexit, having previously warned that tens of thousands of jobs in the UK are at risk if the UK exits the European Union without an agreement.
The manufacturer recently announced plans to cut about 4,500 jobs globally as part of a £2.5bn plan to reverse losses.
Mr Speth also revealed that he does not know if his manufacturing plants will be able to function after the 29th March.
But rebutting those claims, Mr Johnson said Brexit can be "fantastic" if it is done right.
He told Nick: "I don't agree with [Ralf Speth], I think that Brexit can be fantastic, but it depends how you do it."
"About six years ago Ralf came to my office in City Hall and we had a conversation about the future of electric vehicles - which I was trying to champion in London.
"I was desperate to increase them, because I wanted to tackle the air quality problem.
"And I simply said that I thought electric vehicles did represent the future and we should be going down that route.
"But he said no, diesel is great and we should stick with it.
"I'm afraid to say that events have vindicated me on that point, rather than him and if you look today, Jaguar Land Rover is finally producing a very good electric vehicle which one day I hope to save up enough money to buy."
Nick quipped: "With the way you're going they'll be a long way for you to save up money!"
