Increased Nissan production in UK

Nissan has announced an upturn in the fortunes of its Sunderland plant as a direct result of EU-wide scrap incentives - and will take on 150 more staff in anticipation of yet more activity when the UK scheme starts later in May.

Demand for the Micra, Note and Qashqai has increased markedly, with Nissan reporting year-on-year sales increases in Germany, Italy and France of nine, 21 and 31 percent respectively - thanks to those countries' scrap schemes.

The new staff will be employed on four-month fixed-term contracts from June to help build an expected 14,000 extra cars. It's a welcome boost for the motoring economy, and it's given Nissan a glimmer of hope in a downbeat market. Trevor Mann, Nissan Europe's Senior Vice President for Manufacturing, said: "The impact of the financial crisis is continuing and our 2009 full-year forecasts still reflect a depressed market overall.

"However, this short term spike in demand, fuelled by a number of scrappage schemes introduced across Europe, is clearly a very welcome boost to business during what is a highly challenging period for all car makers."

Meanwhile, Nissan is offering a £2,000 discount on a new car when a car of eight years or older is scrapped - undercutting the Government scheme by two years.

Mark Nichol