Car manufacturer Nissan has announced that it is to build a new model at its Sunderland plant.
The decision effectively secures the jobs of the 4,700 employed at the site.
The compact sport utility vehicle will be produced in the free plant space created when the production of the Nissan Micra at the site ends in 2010.
Nissan announced the £55 million investment, of which £6 million is coming from the UK government, as prime minister Gordon Brown visited the company's design centre today.
"I'm delighted to congratulate Nissan on this new model, which will bring to Sunderland something that's going to guarantee jobs in the distant future," Mr Brown declared.
"By delivering on tough commitments, our employees at Sunderland have demonstrated our plant can be a globally competitive centre for the production of high-value products," Nissan-Renault chief executive Carlos Ghosn added in a statement.
Nissan sells about 80 per cent of the vehicles produced at the Sunderland plant outside Britain, making it the country's biggest vehicle exporter.
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