Nissan to invest £250m in Sunderland

Japanese car giant Nissan has released a statement announcing their intentions to invest £250m in a factory in Sunderland, promising to create "hundreds of jobs" in the area.

It is believed that the move was made to target buyers in Europe, the manufacturer's weakest point of sales. The upgraded factory is expected to make 500,000 cars a year and is estimated to open up 280 in house jobs and 700 supply jobs. The main vehicle being build will be modeled on the Infiniti Ethera concept car, unveiled in March 2011.

The vehicle is described as a new, smaller model that is perfect for the European Market.  Nissan have set sales target of 100,000 in Europe - a massive jump from the 16,700 cars sold in 2011.

"Historically, we've made Infiniti in Japan," said executive Mr Dodge, "though in recent years, the yen has been strong, making it a struggle to make money from cars exported from Japan."