Nissan said yesterday it had sold more than 1.8 million cars in the first six months of its financial year, up 15 per cent on last year.

But Nissan, which employs more than 4,000 people at its plant in Washington, near Sunderland, said net income after tax totalled more than $2bn dollars - down 3.4 per cent on the same period last year - due to one-off costs associated with pensions in the first quarter.

Chief executive Carlos Ghosn said: "Despite the severe business environment, Nissan's fundamentals continue to strengthen, thanks to appealing products and a competitive cost structure.

"Taking into account the risks and opportunities, we see no compelling reason to change our initial financial forecasts for the full year."

In the first half, Nissan released two new models in Japan - the Serena minivan and the Otti minicar - and plans to launch three extra new models in Japan and one in Europe - the Note, which will be built at Sunderland - in the second half.

It also started building the Micra C+C at Sunderland last month, which has a folding roof.

This week, the company confirmed it was creating 200 temporary jobs at its plant in Washington to meet demand for Almera and Primera cars in Russia as the country's wealth grows.