Welcome to the briefing room with me, David Oronovich. The idea is that we take one of those

issues that you feel you need to know about, bring together some of the top minds on the

subject and take 28 minutes to get briefed up on it. You can subscribe to the podcast via BBC

Sounds and it'd be really helpful if you could tell us what you think by writing a review

or rating us on your podcast provider.

Our question today, after the Nissan investment decision, is carmaking in Britain doomed?

And if you enjoy this podcast, you might enjoy other editions of the briefing room, which are all available on BBC Sounds.

Music all available on BBC Sounds. Back in 2016, when Nissan chose Sunderland to build its next generation of SUVs,

the city celebrated and the UK government breathed a sigh of relief.

Maybe Brexit wasn't going to put off foreign

investors after all. But this week, the Japanese carmaker reversed its decision and announced that

the X trail will be made not in England, but in Japan. And today there was more bad news,

with Jaguar Land Rover posting big losses and Honda announcing job cuts in Swindon.

So this week we're asking, is car making in Britain doomed?

Step inside the briefing room to find out.

First, let's discover how a Japanese firm like Nissan became such a big player in the British

economy. We asked two of the country's leading experts to give us a potted history of UK car

making, and you'll hear first from Dan Coffey from the Leeds University Business School,

and then from Professor David Bailey from the Aston Business School.

What makes the British car industry different in Europe?

It's the only country which once had a massive and dominant Indigenous industry,

and today it doesn't have an Indigenous car industry.

...