A brand new as yet unnamed Nissan supermini will be built at the company’s plant in Sunderland from 2010.
The new car will take the place of the current generation of the Micra on the Sunderland production line.
The Nissan plant in Sunderland produced 374,000 vehicles in 2007.
The announcement of the new supermini came after Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the factory.
Nissan has also announced it will be using a new, small ‘A’ platform that will be the basis for the new Micra.