SIR Ian Gibson, the driving force who helped make Nissan's Sunderland plant the most efficient car operation in Europe, is to step down.

The senior vice president of Nissan Motor Co in Japan, Sir Ian has decided to leave as part of a major shake-up in senior officers.

The shock announcement came the day after delighted Nissan officials announced the Japanese giant would pay shareholders a dividend for the first time since March 1998.

Sir Ian, who joined Nissan from Ford in 1984, is well respected within the car industry as a senior executive who can get things done.

BMW attempted to headhunt him a couple of years ago. The board of the German company believed he was the only man who could turn around its troublesome Rover subsidiary.

Details of the talks have never been made public but, in the end, Sir Ian decided to remain with Nissan. Perhaps the thought of taking on such a tough job was too much even for him.

Under Sir Ian's direction the Nissan Sunderland plant developed from a small operation manufacturing kits imported from Japan to a fully-fledged world manufacturing site.

In 1996 Sir Ian became vice president of manufacturing and purchasing for Nissan Europe.

The year later he was appointed managing director of Nissan's operations in Spain and two years after that he became chairman.

In April 1999 he became president of Nissan Motor Co in Japan and the leader of operations in Europe. He also played a key role in merging sales and marketing when Nissan clinched a strategic alliance with Renault.

His efforts on behalf of British workers earned him to CBE in 1990 and a knighthood in 1999.

John Cushnaghan, managing director of Nissan Motoring Manufacturing UK, said: It is largely thanks to Sir Ian's efforts that Nissan has a significant strategic position not just in the UK but Europe as well."