Japanese car giant Nissan praised the workforce at its UK plant today after announcing plans to build a new model under a £125m (€150m) investment programme, creating 2,000 jobs.

Nissan today became the latest car manufacturer to be hit by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan when it announced three non-production days at its UK plant.

Car giant Nissan is to halt production of two models at its UK plant in response to a decline in demand as a result of the economic downturn, it was announced today.

Nissan's Sunderland plant is the most productive in Europe for the sixth year running.