NISSAN has completed its revival plan in style, becoming the UK's largest car production facility.

The Japanese car firm, which employs 5,000 staff at its Sunderland plant, produces more than 300,000 cars a year, and has plans to increase that volume in the long term to 500,000.

That is 110,000 more than its nearest rivals, French car maker Peugeot in Coventry, and 120,000 more than either Vauxhall's Cheshire plant or Honda in Swindon. Japanese rival Toyota produces about 156,000 cars a year in Derbyshire.

The turnaround in Nissan's fortunes was revealed in its annual results, which showed a 69 per cent rise in operating profits to £2.9bn.

Sunderland's manufacturing plant made a major contribution to those figures, pushing up sales nine per cent to 97,965 vehicles.

Nissan is 44.4 per cent owned by Renault, while Nissan holds a 15 per cent stake in the French car maker.

Carlos Ghosn, president of Nissan Motor Manufacturing, ruled out a complete merger of the two companies in the future. He said: "Nissan and Renault are not going to merge. The cross-shareholding structure of the two companies will not change."

He said the risks of a full merger of the two companies would far outweigh any benefits from such a deal.

Mr Ghosn is set to become chief executive of both companies in 2005, when Louis Schweitzer, the current chief executive of Renault, steps aside.

Announcing the completion of the Nissan Revival Plan (NRP), a year ahead of schedule, he launched Nissan's three-year business plan Nissan 180. Mr Ghosn said: "Through NRP, we transformed a struggling company into a good company; through Nissan 180, we will transform a good company into a great company."

Under Nissan 180 the company aims to add an additional million vehicle sales by the end of 2004, by continuing to launch additional products.

It plans to launch at least 28 vehicles in the next three years, entering new worldwide markets to fuel its growth plans.

Nissan will also continue to improve efficiency, aiming to cut costs at its global operations, by streamlining purchasing, manufacturing, logistics and distribution.

Mr Ghosn said: "We have a clear idea about our future. The new fiscal year started under the banner of Nissan 180; a plan that opens a new perspective for our company, a perspective of lasting profitable growth. Now we have to earn it."

Looking ahead Mr Ghosn remained cautiously optimistic. He said: "Risks for the year include a decline in the value of the dollar relative to the yen and a harsher competitive environment than planned.

"Opportunities include potentially more favourable total industry volumes, particularly in the US. However, the biggest opportunity for the year lies in the swift implementation of Nissan 180."