An employee fits parts to the passenger doors of new Nissan automobiles as they travel along the production line at Nissan Motor vehicle assembly plant in Sunderland, U.K.Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJapanese carmaker Nissan will review its decision to build the Qashqai sport utility vehicle at its Sunderland plant in northern England if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, the Financial Times reported, citing three sources. The FT said a disorderly Brexit where Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, damaging supply chains, could prompt the eventual closure of the site. Former British Prime Minister Theresa May struck a 2016 deal with Nissan to ensure the Japanese firm built the model at the plant in Sunderland, a huge boost to the government as it came in the months after Britain voted to leave the bloc. A source at the time told Reuters that the government had promised extra support to Nissan in written assurances that Brexit would not hit the competitiveness of the plant, which exported 55% of its cars to Europe. Former Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn, who was involved in that decision, has since been fired by Nissan. “While we don’t comment on speculative scenarios, our plans for Qashqai production in Sunderland have not changed,” a spokesman for the company said.
