COMPANIES buying fewer fleet cars has hit sales of the North-East-built Nissan Primera.

The plant, at Washington, on Wearside, has made more than 100,000 of the medium-sized saloons and estates, which went on sale 11 months ago.

But the Japanese manufacturer, which employs nearly 5,000 people on Wearside, is still trying to find buyers for some of the vehicles.

The firm says strong competition in the sub-executive class and new entries into the market, such as the revamped Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Vectra, are believed to have hampered early sales.

A Nissan UK spokesman said: "Of the cars built since the Primera was released last year, not all have found buyers.

"But the Primera is still a new model and we have high expectations, but there were a lot of newcomers into the market segment which took us by surprise.''

The spokesman added that the sub-executive class was declining and the company was closely looking at its Primera sales forecasts.

The reception given to the Primera, which costs between £14,000 and £20,000, contrasts with sales of the Micra sales, which have "significantly exceeded expectations".

The model went on sale last month and the firm took 13,000 orders for it across Europe. Nissan expects to sell 160,000 Micra hatchbacks across Europe each year.

Nissan increased the capacity of the Sunderland by 12 per cent to meet demand.

The factory is rated the most efficient in the UK and produces 360,000 cars a year.