Avoid Brexit no deal 'at all costs', urge Japanese car firms

Japanese carmakers have said a "no deal" Brexit should be "avoided at all costs", warning of the threat to economies and jobs in the UK and across the EU.

In an unusually strongly-worded statement, Akio Toyoda, Toyota boss and chairman of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), highlighted the growing "apprehension" that an agreement will not be reached.

He urged both sides to make "maximum efforts" to hammer out a deal.

His call follows demands by the UK car industry that Brexit negotiators rule out a no deal scenario to avoid costly damage to the sector.

BMW (EUREX: BMWE.EX - news) , as revealed by Sky News , has already said it would shut down manufacturing at its Mini plant outside Oxford for a month after Brexit day next year because of the potential for supply chain disruption.

The chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover Ralf Speth has also previously warned that supply bottlenecks resulting from a no deal Brexit could bring to a halt to production at the company's UK car plants at a cost of £60m a day .

Fears of the UK quitting the bloc without an agreement being reached have been heightened after a critical Brussels summit ended without a breakthrough .

In a statement Mr Toyoda said: "Apprehension is therefore growing that a 'withdrawal without agreement' may become a reality."

He pointed out plants operated by JAMA member companies across the EU, including in Britain, last year produced 1.5 million vehicles and employed 170,000 directly or indirectly, contributing to the economy and jobs.

Mr Toyoda warned: "For those contributions to continue, it is necessary that an unimpaired trade environment between the United Kingdom and the European Union be maintained and that the automobile industry's activities remain predicated on shared standards, including those regulating vehicle certification."

He added: "If no withdrawal agreement is reached and the transition period through December 2020 is consequently not implemented, corporate activities and consumers will be adversely affected by the impacts of suspended production activities resulting from failed just-in-time logistics operations, declines in revenue, and revised vehicle sales prices caused by spiralling logistics and production costs.

"We hope that both the UK and EU governments will continue to make maximum efforts to reach a satisfactory settlement and that a 'withdrawal without agreement' is avoided at all costs."