NISSAN president Carlos Ghosn last night pledged to do everything in his power to ensure car production remained at his Sunderland plant - but warned the factory faced an "uphill struggle" to compete.

The president and chief executive officer of Nissan was hosting a visit to the Washington factory by Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday to launch its latest model, the Note.

Production of the compact family car began in January.

Mr Ghosn paid tribute to the workforce at the most productive car plant in Europe - and said that if Note was a success, then Sunderland will get the chance to build more models.

He said: "The 4,400 women and men of this plant have established a reputation as Europe's leader of productivity.

"In producing cars here since 1986, they have led the economic resurgence of this region and proved to the world what the people of the North-East can achieve when given the opportunity.

"Today we celebrate the significant next step, the successful start of production for the Note.

"The people of this plant had to compete very hard to win this model. The motor industry is fiercely competitive and even Britain's most efficient manufacturer faces an uphill struggle to compete against lower-cost producers."

Mr Ghosn said Nissan, which has invested £2.3bn in the plant, would do everything it could to ensure the future of Sunderland.

But he warned: "Nothing can be certain unless there is a business case to back it up. That is the harsh reality of the global business environment.

"Winning the chance to produce this model is no ticket to an easy life. Everyone here knows we have to stretch to make it work. But if Sunderland can succeed with the Note, and I am confident it will, we will have many other new models for this plant in the future."

Since production began at the plant 20 years ago, more than four million cars have rolled off the production line.

Speaking to workers on the factory floor, Mr Blair said: "We are really lucky we have a company like this in our region which is prepared not just to make the investment but also the commitment to the long-term future."

This year will see one of the busiest periods in the plant's history, with the launch of the Note, and production of Micra, the Micra C+C, Almera and Primera.

Another vehicle, currently known as the Qashqai, will start production at the factory in December.