Nissan to seek Brexit compensation pledge for new UK investment

PARIS/LONDON: Nissan wants Britain to pledge compensation for any eventual tax barriers imposed due to Brexit if the Japanese automaker is to make a new investment in the country's biggest car plant, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said on Thursday.

Nissan, which builds around one in three of all of Britain's total car output at its Sunderland facility, is due to decide early next year on where to build its next Qashqai sport utility vehicle.

"If I need to make an investment in the next few months and I can't wait until the end of Brexit, then I have to make a deal with the UK government," Ghosn told reporters at the Paris auto show.

"You can have commitments of compensation in case you have something negative," he said.

"If there are tax barriers being established on cars, you have to have a commitment for carmakers who export to Europe that there is some kind of compensation."

The June 23 Brexit vote took many investors and chief executives by surprise, triggering the deepest political and financial turmoil in Britain since World War Two and the biggest ever one-day fall in sterling against the dollar. Britain is expected to trigger formal divorce talks from the European Union early next year with talks expected to last for two years, though it is unclear whether Britain will have full access to EU markets when it leaves.

The British government says it will get the right deal out of Brexit but some investors, especially those which export much of their finished products to the continent, are worried they may have to pay tariffs to sell their goods into EU markets once Britain leaves.

Britain's overwhelmingly foreign-owned car industry was a strong supporter of continued membership of the bloc during the referendum campaign and has voiced concern about future production conduct without unfettered access to the single market.

Britain's business ministry did not offer an immediate comment when contacted by Reuters.