THE Nissan car plant in Sunderland has recently built its one millionth car for the UK market. The landmark vehicle was a Coral Blue 1.4 litre Micra SE.

The milestone was well timed, as the plant is celebrating its 20th year in the UK in 2004. In that time, more than 3.6 million cars have rolled off the Wearside production line. And last year the plant achieved a record production volume of 332,000 Micras, Almeras and Primeras.

Nissan now has the largest UK presence of any car manufacturer. In addition to the Sunderland facility, Nissan also has its European design headquarters based in Paddington, its European research and development function in Cranfield, Beds and a national sales and marketing company in Rickmansworth, Herts.

Managing Director of NMUK, Colin Dodge, commented: "Reaching the million mark for the UK market represents a real achievement on behalf of the workforce, and cements Nissan's position as an integral and important part of this country's automotive industry. "Twenty years ago a lot of people doubted Nissan's ability to successfully locate here, so it's satisfying to have achieved this production milestone, particularly in our anniversary year."