Nissan says its Qashqai plans ‘have not changed’
X-Trail, after receiving assurances from Theresa May's government that it would be protected from the impact of Brexit.
But the X-Trail move was reversed in February, while the firm announced a month later that it was ending production of its luxury Infiniti brand in Sunderland.
The FT said a soft Brexit with, a trade deal or transition agreement was necessary, for Nissan to continue manufacturing in the UK.
Nissan said its plans to build the Qashqai in Sunderland ‘have not changed’ but it said a no-deal Brexit would have ‘serious implications for British industry.’
A spokesman said: "Frictionless trade has enabled the growth that has seen our Sunderland plant become the biggest factory in the history of the UK car industry, exporting more than half of its production to the EU.
"Today we are among those companies with major investments in the UK who are still waiting for clarity on what the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU will look like.
"As a sudden change from those rules to the rules of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) will have serious implications for British industry, we urge UK and EU negotiators to work collaboratively towards an orderly, balanced Brexit that will continue to encourage mutually beneficial trade."
MEP Jude Kirton-Darling MEP said: “This is terrifying news and a sign of our worst fears starting to take the dreaded shape. The risk posed to the Nissan plant in Sunderland and therefore to thousands of automotive jobs in our region is a prime example of why those implying that leaving with no deal is the purest form of Brexit are either categorically wrong or simply lying. ”