Manufacturers eye UK suppliers for hard Brexit impact

GENEVA - As Britain prepares to leave the European Union, some carmakers are considering softening the blow of any trade tariffs by sourcing more parts locally and producing more models they can sell domestically rather than export.

Eighty percent of UK-assembled vehicles are exported and they could face tariffs of up to 10 percent if Britain has to fall back on World Trade Organization rules, with some components subject to multiple, varying tariffs each time they cross a border.

"If we do find there are tariffs on sending cars out, or there are tariffs on bringing components in, then that would be a motivator to repatriate some component production to the UK," McLaren Automotive Chief Executive Mike Flewitt told Reuters at the Geneva Motor Show.