Car maker Toyota (www.toyota-global.com) has reassured its Derbyshire workers that they need not fear losing their jobs following the recent European Union referendum. It did so after an economic analyst in Japan said there was “a strong chance” that the company would “pull out of the UK”.

Toyota, which also has an engine-making plant at Deeside, North Wales, exports 75% of the cars made at Burnaston to EU countries.

Tony Walker, deputy managing director of Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK, said that jobs at the Burnaston plant were safe for “many years to come”.

He added: “We want to emphasise that we are here to do business — and it is ‘business as usual’. In the short term, we are still in the European Union.

"In the medium term, we have already made an investment decision about the next car we will produce — and that will still go ahead for six to seven years after the current car we are making, which itself will be continuing for another couple of years; so nothing changes for a number of years.

"In the long term, decisions will be based on the conditions at the time. We do not know what those conditions will be, so it is too early to speculate.”