NISSAN'S new Micra project may have a grim sting in the tail for North-East suppliers, the company warned last night.

Even if the new car comes to Sunderland, many Nissan suppliers could find themselves losing out to Europe.

The Wearside plant will hear later this month whether it, or a Renault factory in France, has landed the contract.

Nissan spokesman Andrew Horne said: "At the moment 75 per cent of the Micra is made by UK-based companies.

"We may be able to reduce the cost of building the next car in Sunderland by sourcing far more of those components from Europe.

"Obviously, that will have a knock-on effect on our UK suppliers."

Although the loss of the new Micra will not spell disaster for the plant, some experts fear it could signal the beginning of long-term decline.

Professor Ray Hudson and colleague David Sadler, of Durham University, warn in The Northern Echo today that shifting more production to France "is a price Renault is prepared to pay to be able to demonstrate positive results for France from its link with Nissan".

But Mr Horne countered: "The Micra decision will be made in the best interests of Nissan and not Renault."

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