NISSAN boss Carlos Ghosn has given the clearest indication yet that production of future new Nissan models at the company's award-winning Sunderland plant may be under threat if Britain does not join the Euro.
And Mr Ghosn said that even if Britain does join the common currency, the company would again be looking to the British taxpayer to help underwrite the future production of new models at the plant.
The Government has already pumped massive amounts of money into the Nissan factory - the most productive in Europe - including £40 million to secure production of the latest Micra there.
But at a Press conference held minutes after Prime Minister Tony Blair had officially rolled out the first new generation Micra to be built at the Sunderland plant, Mr Ghosn, President of Nissan Motor Company, would not give any guarantee that any replacement for the Almera family car - one of three models currently produced at the factory - would be built there.
He said that although a decision had not yet been made as to whether to replace the Almera, the current model will "very likely" be renewed.
"If we decide to do it, the UK will be the natural place," he said, "but we will have to go to another round of negotiations."
But he added: "If the UK comes into the Euro that's fine - this would be the right place to build the car. But if the UK is not in the Euro we will have to think again. This is a decision that has to be made in 2003 and we will discuss this question with the people who will help us find the answer."
British component suppliers have already suffered because the UK is not yet part of the Euro community.
Although it is producing the new Micra at Sunderland, Nissan has turned its component supply line on its head for the new model with 70 per cent of parts sourced in Euros compared with only 20 per cent for the previous model.
"Each time we look at investing in Sunderland we come back to this," added Mr Ghosn.
Nissan was given £100 million worth of grant aid to build the factory 18 years ago and since then British taxpayers have contributed at least another £45 million to help Nissan turn the Sunderland plant into the UK's biggest car production facility and Europe's most efficient.
By the end of next year the factory will be capable of producing 500,000 cars a year, 150,000 a year more than before, and factory managing director John Cushnaghan admitted: "We will have spare capacity at this plant."
Some of that capacity could be taken up if Nissan decides to go ahead with production of a sleek, two-plus-two coupe convertible version of the Micra - the C+C - which was shown in concept form at this year's British International Motor Show.
Mr Ghosn said that the company is still evaluating whether or not to put the concept into production. "The question is, can we make it profitably?" he said. "If we can, we will launch it in Europe."
A decision is expected by the middle of next year and, if it is positive, Nissan insiders believe that the company's commitment to keeping costs low and quality high will inevitably mean that the C+C will be built at Sunderland.
Mr Ghosn also held out the intriguing possibility of cars being built at Sunderland for Nissan's sister company, Renault.
The new Micra shares its basic platform with the forthcoming replacement for the Renault Clio. Said Mr Ghosn: "The Micra can be built at any Renault plant using the platform and any Renault using it can be built at Sunderland.
"For the foreseeable future we do not think we will need cross manufacturing. But," he added, "if we need it, the facility is there."
The new Micra is due to go on sale in Britain in mid-January and Nissan is hoping for a repeat of the success the car has so far enjoyed in Japan where it is selling twice as many as anticipated with 40 per cent of sales coming from people who previously bought other brands.