Blair launches new Micra production
2 December 2002: Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Nissan Motor Company, welcomed Tony Blair to Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, UK, last Friday to launch the production of the next generation Micra.
The new car will go on sale across Europe, including Ireland from the beginning of 2003. Nissan Ireland has already begun a poster campaign to make customers aware of the new car.
The company is targeting average lifetime sales of over 160,000 Micras per year across Europe. The original Sunderland-built Micra was the first Japanese car to win the coveted European Car of the Year title in 1993, which has since sold over 1.3 million units across the continent.
Nissan’s operations in Sunderland began in 1984, with the first vehicle, the Nissan Bluebird, coming off the production line in 1986. Since then, the car plant has grown to become the UK’s largest, and has produced over 3 million vehicles to date.