The Micra C+C, Nissan Sunderland’s newest model, has today begun rolling off the production line.

The very first car, a silver 1.6 litre petrol, Sport grade, came off the line at around 8.30am, destined for a customer in the UK.

The C+C was designed at London-based Nissan Design Europe, developed at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe in Bedfordshire, and will be built by Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd in Sunderland.

It represents a £95m investment, taking the total investment by Nissan in the Sunderland plant to over £2.1bn.

Nissan is targeting 20,000 annual sales of the stylish coupe/convertible, which features a folding glass roof that can be raised or lowered into the trunk, at the touch of a button, in just 22 seconds.

Deliveries of the Micra C+C will begin in mid November with prices starting at £13,150.