PRIME Minister David Cameron last night hailed Nissan's decision to make another massive investment in the region as "a great day" for the North-East, and for UK manufacturing.

The Sunderland plant has been chosen to build the next generation of the Nissan Qashqai model, safeguarding thousands of jobs at the plant, and hundreds more across the regions supply chain.

The North-East factory has made almost one million Qashqais, but winning the £192m contract to produce the new version of Nissans biggest selling model was not a formality, as the Sunderland plant had to compete with rival sites across Europe to secure the work.

"The way the company operates is that it has its plants competing with one another," explained Kevin Fitzpatrick, Nissan vice president of manufacturing. "You can never rest on your laurels. We have to prove we can handle the volumes and deliver consistent quality, so we were taking nothing for granted. This is great news."

One in four of all cars made in the UK are Nissan Qashqais and 1,200 roll off the Sunderland production line every day. The plants 4,900 staff also produce the Note and Juke models.

At a meeting with Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive officer of Nissan, the Prime Minister hailed the North-East workforce as an example of British manufacturing at its best. He said: "That future manufacturing and research and development has been secured is a tribute to the skill, expertise and hard work of Nissans UK workforce.

"It is vital that we have a strong manufacturing base to rebalance our economy and secure sustainable economic growth, and it is this Governments determination that we do all we can to enable businesses to invest, to grow and create jobs.

"I have seen first hand the tremendous work at the Nissan Sunderland plant; this is a great day for them, the whole of the North-East and for UK manufacturing too."

The company, which received a £20.7m Government grant last year to bring production of its Leaf electric car to Sunderland from 2013, said that it would fund the latest investment entirely itself.

Making the announcement outside 10 Downing Street, Mr Ghosn said: "The UK has been a cornerstone of Nissan manufacturing since 1986, with the Sunderland plant setting important benchmarks for quality and efficiency in Europe and around the world. Its the home of the Qashqai, one of Nissan's biggest product successes. And as Nissan's leadership in sustainable transportation grows, the plant will become one of the pillars of our zero-emission manufacturing."

Andrew Sugden, director of membership and policy at the North East Chamber of Commerce said it was "fantastic news" which reflected the quality and skills of Nissan workers and the strength of the firms supply chain.

Tony Burke, a spokesman for trades union Unite regarded the announcement as "great for the hard-pressed North-East economy and our members."