A £1billion investment which will see Nissan and its partners establish a world-leading electric vehicle supply chain in Sunderland has led to the firm scooping a major industry award.

The Green Hero Award recognises Nissan’s road to carbon neutrality and its £1bn investment in sustainable EV production technologies.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, SVP for Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management at Nissan Europe, said: “We are delighted to receive this award from motoring website Electrifying.com for our pioneering work with electric vehicles since 2010, including the Nissan LEAF, which is proudly built by our manufacturing team here in the UK."

Professor Lawrence Bellamy, board member of Sunderland Business Partnership and Academic Dean for the Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism at the University of Sunderland, said: “Nissan is very important to the economy of the city, so it is great that it continues to develop the site to ensure its viability long into the future.”

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “The company has helped position Sunderland as one of the world’s leading automotive manufacturing hubs and its investment through EV36Zero will not only create thousands of highly skilled jobs, but also help the city achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040."