Japanese carmaker Nissan said it will build its new Qashqai model at Britain's biggest car plant, marking the first major investment from the car industry since the UK voted to leave the EU.

Chief executive Carlos Ghosn had warned in September that Brexit could threaten new investment in Nissan's Sunderland plant, but said on Thursday that British government support had helped it to go ahead with its new investment.

The British government has committed in writing to extra support for Nissan in the event that Brexit reduces the competitiveness of its Sunderland plant.

“The commitment by the UK government that Sunderland would remain competitive certainly gave us the confidence to pull this important decision forward,” said a spokesman for Nissan.

Nissan said that as well as the Qashqai model it would also build its next X-trail model there. – (Reuters)