PRIME Minister David Cameron will be at Nissan's North-East car plant later today to officially launch production of the world's first mass-market electric car.
Mr Cameron will join workers at the record-breaking Sunderland site to mark a new era in UK car manufacturing.
Production of the all-electric Nissan Leaf hatchback will create about 500 jobs at the plant and 1,500 jobs at supplier companies across the North-East.
About 60 journalists from all over Europe have jetted in to record the historic event.
Earlier this morning we were given a tour of the factory floor and saw the new Leaf being made.
It takes Nissan's highly trained staff just two hours to make a Leaf from start to finish.
The japanese car firm has declined to reveal how many Leafs it expects to make this year but about 50 are due to roll off the production line today.
John Martin, Nissan's senior vice-president of manufacturing in Europe said that winning the contract to make the Leaf in Sunderland was a "great day for the plant and a huge vote of confidence in our workforce here in the North-East".
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