The huge Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port could be closed if the government does not change its Brexit deal, its owner has warned.
Parent company Stellantis, whose brands also include Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat, said it would be unable to keep its commitment to make electric vehicles in the UK without changes to the deal.
The group, which employs more than 5,000 people in the UK, told a Commons inquiry into supply of batteries for EV manufacture that their UK investments were in the balance due to the terms of the trade deal.
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The world’s fourth biggest car maker committed to making electric vehicles at its Ellesmere Port plant two years ago.
Stellantis confirmed a £100m investment into the plant in July 2021, securing hundreds of jobs at the huge site.
Around 800 people are directly employed by the Vauxhall plant, known for manufacturing the Astra model.
But in a submission to the inquiry, the company said the Brexit deal was a "threat to our export business and the sustainability of our UK manufacturing operations".
It called on the government to reach agreement with the EU to maintain existing rules until 2027, rather than next year's planned changes which state 45% of an electric car's value should originate in the UK or EU to qualify for trade without tariffs.
Stellantis said the rise in the cost of raw materials during the pandemic and energy crisis meant it was "unable to meet these rules of origin".
It said the upcoming rules would see 10% tariffs on trade with the EU and make domestic production and exports uncompetitive with Japan and South Korea.
The company said that would mean manufacturers "will not continue to invest" and will relocate.
"To reinforce the sustainability of our manufacturing plants in the UK, the UK must consider its trading arrangements with Europe," Stellantis told the inquiry, listing Honda’s closing of its site in Swindon and investment in the US as examples of its impact.
Stellantis said there will be "insufficient battery production" in the UK or Europe to meet government targets in phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2025 and 2030.
"It we are unable to rely on sufficient UK or European batteries, we will be at a major competitive disadvantage. In particular against Asian imports," they said.
"We need to reinforce the competitiveness of the UK by establishing battery production in the UK."
Electric cars and batteries were among the final parts of the Brexit deal agreed between then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in 2020.
Alison McGovern, the Labour MP for Wirral South, said: "My constituents know what the last Labour government did to back our automotive industry. We protected jobs and manufacturing at Ellesmere Port and elsewhere.
"My constituents also know what Boris Johnson's bad Brexit deal did to harm it. It's the jewel in the crown of British manufacturing - but they have put it at risk.
"You cannot trust the Tories with our jobs. But change is coming. Labour's industrial strategy will keep jobs in the UK, making the next generation of cars here, supported by gigafactories needed for the electric vehicle revolution. That will be good for jobs in the Wirral and everywhere in our country."
However Downing Street said raw material costs have spiked for car manufacturers for "a number of reasons" after it signed the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
A No 10 spokesman said: "We recognise that for a number of reasons raw material costs for manufacturers have spiked since we signed the TCA.
"That’s a problem for manufacturers across Europe not just here in the UK. I believe European carmakers’ body the ACEA has said themselves that the European battery industry is simply not taking enough quick enough to keep in line with the more restrictive rules that are due to come into place.
"That’s why the Business Secretary has raised this already with the European Commission. It’s been raised at official level as well and we hope to come to a resolution with the EU on this."
Asked whether the January 2024 deadline could be pushed back, he said: "We’re looking to what solutions we can put in place to a problem that we know exists, I’m not going to get ahead of the conversations we’re having with the EU."
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