NISSAN’S plant in Sunderland will receive half of a £373m European loan to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.

As expected, the European Investment Bank (EIB) yesterday approved the loan for a research and development project.

The funds have been split between Nissan’s factory on Wearside and in Avila, Spain The EIB, at its board meeting in Luxembourg, also approved a £340m package for Jaguar Land Rover for work to help cut vehicle emissions.

The Government will guarantee the loans as part of a £2.3bn package for the UK motor industry, announced by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson in January.

A Nissan spokesman said: “Nissan is very pleased with the approval of the EIB loan, which will support the company’s ability to develop and produce innovative products and technologies under the current challenging economic conditions.

“Nissan joins the other manufacturers in applauding the move by the EIB, to extend support to the automotive industry through this crisis and sharing the vision for new and improved emission standards that can satisfy changing costumer needs and at the same time protect the global environment.

“Nissan’s commitment to sustainable mobility is stronger than ever and at the same time it maintains its desire to meet customer’s expectations.”

The company was unable to confirm last night whether the loan would protect jobs at the factory, where, in January, 1,200 redundancies were announced and last month workers’ pay was frozen.

But Deputy Regional Minster for the North-East Roberta Blackman-Woods, said: “This announcement is great news for Nissan and great news for our region.

Not only will it help protect the jobs of the 4,900 workers in Sunderland, it will also help secure the long term future of a major regional employer.”

Andrew Sugden, director of membership and policy at the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is great news for Nissan and it is great news for the North -East. There are an awful lot of companies working with Nissan in the region who have a lot to gain.”

John Wright, regional vice-chairman for the North-East and national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘‘We welcome the EIB’s support for the automotive industry, but the loans must be implemented as soon as possible by the Government to ensure small businesses involved in the supply chain can benefit.”

But Dave Telford, regional officer of the union Unite, which represents workers at the plant, said: “This is investment for the future. We want support from the Government here and now. That is not to say it isn’t welcome.”

New car sale figures for March – normally a boom month with the arrival of the new number plates – showed a 30 per cent dip in new registrations.