Nissan warned the British government that the carmaker would wind down UK operations if it was not guaranteed competitive trading conditions with Europe, according to two people involved in negotiations over future investment in its Sunderland plant.
During talks that led to a meeting between Theresa May and Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, the Japanese carmaker said it was prepared to shift production to its Spanish and French factories in a move that would lead to the closure of its British plant and other UK sites.
Government assurances offered to Nissan led to its decision this week to locate two new cars at the plant from 2019, safeguarding more than 30,000 jobs at the site and in its supply chain.
Sunderland's closure would have caused a political tidal wave and set a precedent for other carmakers to locate future work outside Britain.
Rival carmakers are now demanding the same assurances offered to Nissan to shield them from the impact of Brexit. While technology and pharmaceuticals companies are prioritising visas for skilled workers, other exporters including chemicals manufacturers have set tariff-free access to the EU as a priority.
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"Now is the time to influence — to prepare our arguments and to get our arguments in," said Terry Scuoler, chief executive of EEF, the manufacturers' body.
The prime minister's office faces calls from Labour to disclose details of its exact pledges to Nissan, including the contents of a letter written by Greg Clark, the business secretary, to Nissan's executive committee in Japan.
According to several people familiar with the contents of the letter, it contains the same assurances that were offered to Mr Ghosn by the prime minister — namely that the carmaker would face no change in its trading conditions following Britain's exit from the EU.
One of the people involved in the talks said Nissan had made clear that any future Qashqai investment was critical to Nissan's survival in Britian: "Our whole UK operation is linked to Sunderland." In total the company employs close to 8,000 people in the UK, with 7,000 at the factory, 500 at a research centre in Milton Keynes and around 50 at a design studio in West London.
These other sites have a "natural relationship" to the Sunderland plant, the person added, and it was "critical to get the Qashqai" to safeguard these in the long term.
The Qashqai, a small family SUV, accounts for more than half of the nearly 500,000 vehicles produced at the site, of which almost 80 per cent are exported to the EU.
Without the car, the plant would be forced to lay off workers and would struggle to be profitable.
The Nissan Leaf, also made at the site, would be likely to be moved to a plant in France in several years' time when it came up for renewal. The French plant currently produces the same-sized Nissan Micra.
With the plant closed, the ancillary operations such as a battery assembly site in Sunderland, and the R&D and design functions would all be wound down and moved to be closer to the production of the vehicles, according to one person familiar with the contingency plans.
Number 10 and Nissan both denied that the potential closure of Sunderland was discussed at the meeting between Mr Ghosn and the prime minister.
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