Toyota delivers huge Brexit boost with new Auris to be built in Britain

TOYOTA has handed Britain a massive Brexit boost by revealing its new model will be built at its UK plant.

The third-generation Auris will follow its predecessor off production lines at the Japanese firm's Burnaston factory in Derbyshire.

Toyota's Deeside site in North Wales will also be responsible for building the engines.

The announcement is a massive vote of confidence for British manufacturing and follows the company's £240million investment into its UK operation last March.

The cash splurge paid for new equipment, tech and systems to help build the latest model.

The new Auris will be revealed to the world at the Geneva Motor Show on March 6.

Toyota's support will be a huge boost to the UK car industry which has seen sales fall over the last year. It also secures 3,000 British jobs across the two sites which have produced four million cars and five million engines in the last 25 years.

The deal should allay fears the UK would miss out on new models from foreign car manufacturers like Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall with bosses ready to pull the plug on UK factories sparking mass job losses.

The industry had warned about falling off a "cliff edge" if a deal isn't struck that keeps trading regulations free of tax.

But since the vote Nissan has committed to keeping the Qashqai in Sunderland and BMW will assemble the all-electric Mini in Oxford.

Dr Johan van Zyl, Toyota Motor Europe president and CEO, said: "Today’s announcement that we will manufacture the new Auris at Burnaston, with most engines to be supplied from Deeside, shows our confidence in the skills and capabilities of our TMUK members.

"As a company, we are doing what we can to secure the competitiveness of our UK operations as a leading manufacturing centre for our European business.

"With around 85 per cent of our UK vehicle production exported to European markets, continued free and frictionless trade between the UK and Europe will be vital for future success."