The result of the Brexit referendum will cause “a very damaging period of uncertainty”, according to the head of Mitsubishi.

The ‘out’ vote could cause a period of “huge uncertainty for at least two years, probably five years,” said Mitsubishi Motors in the UK managing director Lance Bradley, who talked to AM before the June 23 referendum.

Bradley said that in the run up to the referendum there had been indications that some customers were holding off from changing their car.

The underlying market is strong, he said, but the vote to leave “would be a very damaging period of uncertainty, leading to exchange rate and interest rate problems,” he added.

Nevertheless, Mitsubishi was planning for slower growth in 2016. “We’ve been growing so quickly, that our dealers are kind of expecting that huge  growth to carry on, and it was never the case that we were planning for huge growth this year.

“We’ve been fastest growing brand for the past three years, and that doesn’t continue forever,” Bradley said.