Clark To Calm Japanese Car Giants Over Brexit

Japan's biggest car manufacturers will demand clarity next week about the timing of the UK's departure from the European Union (EU) when they hold their first direct talks with Government ministers since the referendum.

Sky News has learnt that Greg Clark, the new Business Secretary, will meet executives from companies including Nissan during a visit to Japan.

The talks will be significant given the importance of the country's car industry to Britain's manufacturing base.

Whitehall sources acknowledged on Friday that Nissan executives are likely to quiz Mr Clark about the potential timing of the Government's decision to trigger Article 50, which would start the formal process for leaving the EU.

The car company bosses are also expected to demand assurances that ministers will seek to preserve the UK's status as a member of Europe's single market.

During talks this week with the French and German leaders, Theresa May has repeated her view that Article 50 will not be triggered during this year.

Speculation has swirled around the future of Nissan's plant in Sunderland since the vote for Brexit on 23 June, with the site responsible for one in every three cars manufactured in the UK.

Nissan's importance to Sunderland's private sector workforce rendered the city's overwhelming vote in favour of Brexit a particular surprise.

Nissan employs 6,700 people in Sunderland, making it the biggest automotive production facility in Britain, and a further 1,255 elsewhere in the country.

Honda, which has a large plant in Swindon, and Toyota also have substantial manufacturing operations in the UK.

In a statement issued to Sky News, a Nissan GB spokesman said: "While we don't share details of future meetings that we have scheduled with third parties, we are of course regularly in touch with the UK Government."

The company has previously said in response to the vote to leave the EU: "We continue to monitor the situation in the United Kingdom and the European Union.

"Like other multinational companies, we are able to seize opportunities, mitigate risks and continually adapt to changing situations."

Nissan, which was angered by Vote Leave's use of its logo on a campaign leaflet shortly before the referendum, has already committed to manufacturing its latest premium model, the Infiniti Q30, at Sunderland.

A source close to the company said there was now a question mark over incremental investment in its UK factory.

However, it is expected to be insulated for the time being by the fact that it is Nissan's most productive plant in Europe, with hundreds of millions of pounds invested there in recent years to begin producing electric batteries.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy declined to comment on Mr Clark's agenda during his visit to Japan.