Toyota’s Burnaston assembly plant has made enough profit in the past three years to offset more than a decade of losses.

The claim came from Hein Van Gerwen, Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK’s managing director in the Financial Times.

Toyota recorded pre-tax profit up 20% on 2004 of £60.2m last year, sufficient to offset all previous losses, and the company also matched Japanese productivity levels for the first time.

However, Van Gerwen warned that his company’s labour costs were higher in the UK than its other European plants and said crossing the channel added up to €30 (£20.2) per vehicle to Burnaston’s components logistics costs compared to its continental counterparts.