Sunderland salutes Nissan's 1,000,000 Qashqai - in record time

STAFF at car giant Nissan's Sunderland plant celebrated the manufacture of their one millionth Qashqai yesterday.

Production began in 2006 and the company claimed no other UK-built model has reached the million mark in such a short space of time.

The landmark vehicle, a silver 2.0-litre diesel, will now be offered as a prize by the car-maker.

Earlier this month, Nissan announced that it will design, engineer and build the next version of the Qashqai in Britain, safeguarding thousands of jobs.

It currently employs about 5,000 staff at its Sunderland plant, a further 40 at the European design centre in Paddington, west London, and 500 at its technical centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire.

British-built Qashqais are exported to 97 markets across the world, with less than 20 per cent of those built remaining in the UK.

The plant produces 1,200 Qashqais per day - about one for every minute the line is operating.