New vehicle rolls off Nissan line

The new car is expected to go on sale in February 2007

The third new vehicle to be launched in less than two years by Japanese motor manufacturer Nissan has rolled off the production line on Wearside.

The Qashqai was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September and is being pitched at the people carrier market.

The company's Sunderland plant employs more than 4,000 people and has regularly broken production records.

Nissan plans to produce 130,000 of the cars a year, increasing the plant's annual output to 400,000.

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn has said he hopes that the Qashqai will boost Nissan sales.

Production line

The car, which is expected to go on sale from February next year, is the first entirely European-made Nissan model to be exported to Japan.

Development and manufacturing of the Qashqai model was boosted by a £5m grant from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Nissan's operations in Sunderland began in 1984, with the first vehicle coming off the production line in 1986.

The plant, which produces more cars than any other factory in Britain, currently manufactures the Almera, Primera and Micra models.