Car manufacturing boss John Cushnaghan is expected to give an impassioned speech urging the UK to adopt the euro at a national conference in Sunderland tomorrow.

Mr Cushnaghan, managing director of Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK, will outline how the UK's refusal to join the single currency is harming the Japanese firm's operations in Sunderland, at the fifth International Automotive Conference, held at the University of Sunderland this week.

Supporting the opposing view, will be Rod Turner, chairman of Business for Sterling.

Delegates from all over the world are in the city for the conference, organised by Sunderland City Council and sponsored by US components supplier TRW.

The three-day conference, which began yesterday, has heard from representatives of Ford, Daimler Chrysler, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroen, TRW, Delphi and Covinst Europe.

More than 12,000 work in Sunderland's automotive industry.