NISSAN’S Sunderland plant made the most cars in the UK last year, official figures have revealed.

The factory’s total of more than 500,000 was higher than the 449,507 produced by Jaguar Land Rover and Mini’s 178,993.

The numbers were unveiled by The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), as it announced the number of cars rolling off UK production lines hit a seven-year high to reach 1.5 million.

It meant a car was made every 20 seconds in the UK in 2014.

The SMMT also said the year ended with the strongest December in a decade, with 108,000 cars produced last month.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The sector has overcome various challenges, including slower than expected EU recovery and weakness in some global markets.

“More than £7bn of investment into UK production facilities has been announced in the past two years, and we are now seeing the effects as new models begin production, with more expected in 2015.”

Nissan will be intrinsic to those new designs, with the firm now recruiting 280 staff and extending its Wearside plant to make the sporty Infiniti Q30 model.

The vehicle will become the first Sunderland-built model exported to the US, with bosses expecting to make up to 60,000 a year.

Earlier this week, Prince Charles visited the site to meet workers and walked the production line to find out about the company's all-electric Leaf hatchback.

The top car makers were: Nissan, Sunderland: 500,238; Jaguar Land Rover, Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull: 449,507; Mini, Oxford: 178,993; Toyota, Derby: 172,215; Honda, Swindon: 121,799, and Vauxhall, Cheshire: 77,836.