Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier Britain will quit the single market when it exits the bloc, in a decisive speech that quashed speculation she would seek a compromise deal to stay inside the world's biggest trading group.

"We ... urge her to ensure the UK’s negotiations with the EU result in uncomplicated, tariff-free access to the EU single market in future," a BMW spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison)