The Nissan Sunderland plant passed a milestone last month, when the 10 millionth vehicle rolled off the production line 33 years after the first — making it the fastest car factory in the UK to reach this landmark figure. It means that, on average, a new car has been built in Sunderland every two minutes since production began in 1986.

Steve Marsh, Nissan Sunderland plant vice-president (manufacturing) (www.nissan-global.com), said: “Building 10 million vehicles is a tremendous achievement.

Reaching this huge figure has called on all the ingenuity, commitment and spirit of our highly skilled workforce.”

The 10 millionth car was a Qashqai Tekna, which is the most produced model at the plant, contributing more than 3.4 million to the overall figure. The Micra is the second most produced car, with close to 2.4 million being built in
Sunderland.

The Qashqai is one of nine main models to be built at the plant since the first Bluebird was built in 1986, and it is one of three models currently made at the plant, alongside the all-electric Leaf and Juke.

Production of the Juke passed one million last year, with the Primera the only other model to hit seven figures (at just under 1.5 million).

The Nissan Sunderland plant was built on the site of a former airfield, and the ground-breaking ceremony took place in July 1984.

The first Bluebird rolled off the line two years later, and production in the first year was 5,139. The workforce at that time was 470, compared to around 7,000 today.