EU referendum and the implications for the UK auto industry

When Nissan signed a deal to build its car plant in Sunderland in the UK in 1984, Britain had only been a member of the European Economic Community (EEC, which would later become the European Union (EU)) for just over a decade.

That plant is now the biggest in the UK, producing around half a million vehicles a year, employing 6,700 people and supporting up to 27,000 other jobs. Yet around 80% of Sunderland's output goes for export, with the rest of the EU its biggest market. Will Sunderland carry on thriving if the UK votes in favour of leaving the EU (so-called ‘Brexit’) on 23 June?