MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A hard Brexit would be detrimental to the business model of the Nissan in Europe, Gianluca de Ficchy, chairman of the Japanese carmaker for Europe told reporters on Monday.

Britain left the EU last month and the two sides have been talking tough in the run-up to a new round of negotiations, with the EU demanding far-reaching guarantees of fair competition and London saying it would not be bound by the bloc’s rules on the so-called level playing field.

Without an agreement within an 11-month transition period, Britain could have left the bloc under a scenario known as hard Brexit.

Renault, which is part-owned by the French state, owns 43% of Nissan Motor while the Japanese company has a 15% stake in the French carmaker. (Reporting by Gilles Guillaume ; Writing by Matthias Blamont ; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)