Ford has ramped up its warnings about the impact Brexit could have on its UK operations, saying it will “seriously consider” future investments in Britain in the event a trade deal agreed.

Steven Armstrong, the automotive giant’s European chairman, used a launch of electric vehicles to highlight the risks posed by Britain crashing out of the EU, and called for politicians to hammered out a deal.

“We love being in Britain, but it has to be competitive and if it's not competitive then we'll have to take whatever actions we'll need to take to protect the business,” he said at the launch in the Netherlands.

Mr Armstrong said the company has spent tens of millions of pounds preparing for Brexit on measures such as stockpiling and currency hedges.

The company has its main European engineering base at Dunton in Essex, along with an engine factoriy at nearby Dagenham and another one in Bridgend, Wales. These two plants produce 1.3m engines a year which are shipped to Ford's vehicle assembly sites in Europe.