A bad Brexit outcome would mean Nissan's 海角视频 business “will not be sustainable”, a senior company has warned.
Nissan's chief operations officer Ashwani Gupta has made the warning - which repeats comments by him and a number of other Nissan executives - as doubts rise over whether the 海角视频 will get a trade deal with the EU by the end of the transition period in Decemeber.
Europe is the main market for cars made at Nissan's plant and the company would face huge tariffs on cars exported to the EU.
Interviewed by Reuters about a no-deal Brexit, Mr Gupta said: “If it happens without any sustainable business case, obviously it is not a question of Sunderland or not Sunderland, obviously our 海角视频 business will not be sustainable, that’s it.”
Mr Gupta’s comments repeat what he said on a visit to the Sunderland plant in March when he said that “if Brexit happens with an impact on our business, the question isn’t about this plant, it’s that our whole business model is not sustainable.”
The Sunderland plant has been boosted in recent months by a decision to leave it unscathed in a Nissan’s programme of global cuts and closures, and by last week’s announcement that the next generation Qashqai would be made at the factory.
But it has lost two models and around 1,000 members of staff since the EU referendum and has been the subject of constant speculation since the Brexit vote.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that it is “far from certain” that Britain will manage to get a post-Brexit trade deal with Brussels in time for the end of the year.
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Talks have been continuing this week in Brussels between the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his 海角视频 counterpart Lord Frost, but with hopes of a breakthrough this week receding, it is unclear
whether the two sides will be prepared to carry on talking into next week if there is still no agreement.
The current Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year when Britain will finally leave the single market and the customs union and any deal would have to be ratified by both the 海角视频 and European parliaments before then.
Meanwhile, Nissan has welcomed news that the Government is aiming to accelerate the use of electric vehicles in a wide-ranging environmental plan.
A Nissan spokesman said: “We welcome the 海角视频 Government’s zero emission ambitions. The Government has an important role to play in supporting the industry and consumers in the transition to zero emission vehicles. For more than a decade, Nissan has played a leading role as a pioneer in the electrification field, particularly represented by the Nissan Leaf.
“Our transition strategy to electrified powertrain technologies and pure electric vehicles, through models like the next-generation Qashqai and the new Nissan Ariya, is part of our long-running effort to lead the industry on technology.”