CAR maker Nissan today revealed the impact of the recession on the battered industry as it reported a £1.58bn annual loss.

But the group - which employs around 4,800 staff in the UK - offered hope of easing conditions as it said it hoped to narrow losses in the year to next March by more than £405m.

Nissan's full-year deficit was also better than feared, despite a significant reversal of the previous year's £3.26bn profit.

The Japanese group has been hit hard by the slowdown in global sales, with a programme of devastating job cuts that have heavily impacted the UK.

It announced that 1,200 staff would go - almost one in four - at its Sunderland plant earlier this year, followed a month later by news of 20,000 job losses globally over the next year to combat sliding sales.

Its sales in the year to the end of March plunged 22 per cent against the previous year to £57bn, although this was better than its initial forecasts.

Nissan sold 3.4 million vehicles worldwide during the year, down 9.5 per cent from the previous year, as sales dropped in the US, Japan and Europe.

Sales across Europe fell 16.7 per cent to 530,000 cars in one of the worst affected regions after the US, where the figure was down 19.1 per cent.

But sales grew in China, according to Nissan.

It expects to see sales fall again this year to 3.08 million cars, but is maintaining a launch programme with eight new models planned, including the Pixo in Europe.

The group is also planning for a boost from the Governments recent car scrappage scheme, which offers a substantial discount on a new vehicle in return for scrapping a motor at least 10 years old.

Nissan said last week that it would need a further 150 jobs at its Sunderland plant to help manufacture around 14,000 extra cars to deal with the increased demand.

It said last month it saw a year-on-year increase in sales in markets such as France, Italy and Germany where they already had scrappage schemes running.

The UK programme is set to start on May 18.

In announcing today's results, Nissan president and chief executive Carlos Ghosn said: "The global economic recession and financial crisis continue, but we are beginning to see some signs of improved access to credit, the impact of Government stimulus packages and a gradual return in consumer confidence.

"We remain cautious about the economic environment and fully focused on our companys recovery efforts.

Aside from the Sunderland manufacturing base, Nissan also has a UK head office in Hertfordshire, a European design headquarters in Paddington, west London, and an engineering site in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, which is the technical centre for the European division and employs 600 staff."