Ian Robertson, BMW’s board member for sales, has dispensed with the automaker’s customary discretion and urged fellow Britons to vote to remain in the European Union in a referendum this month.
UK support for leaving the EU has risen, with the Out campaign now having a 4-5 percentage point lead, according to opinion polls published on Monday.
Robertson, who was born in western England and brought up in Wales, fears that Britons do not fully grasp what is at stake in the referendum on June 23.
The automaker owns the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands and employs 122,700 staff worldwide. Around 7,800 of its employees work in factories dotted around the UK, including those producing Mini and Rolls-Royce cars, two brands that use their UK heritage to market themselves around the globe.
Underscoring the point, Prime Minister David Cameron, campaigning to keep the UK in the EU, appeared on Monday in front of a row of Minis with the message “Stronger In” on their license plates. An exit would make the UK less attractive as a location for investment even though demand for premium cars is solid, Robertson said.
