NISSAN yesterday announced plans to export its second model to Japan - only ten weeks after the Qashqai made its way across the waters.

The manufacturer's Sunderland plant, which is on course to break its production record this year, will ship the Micra C+C convertible model to Japan this summer.

In March, the Qashqai became the first Sunderland-built car in more than a decade to be exported back to Nissan's home market.

Trevor Mann, senior vice-president of european manufacturing, said growing demand from Japan was "great news" for the plant.

He said: "In March, I was explaining how demanding the Japanese market is in relation to Qashqai export, so to have two of our products competing over there speaks volumes, both about the quality of our employees and the cars they produce.

"I think Japanese motorists will really appreciate the C+C. It's a very individual car with bags of character. It's highly maneuverable, fun to drive and the automatic glass roof is unique in its class."

The announcement came as Nissan revealed it was on course to set a production record this year, with 390,000 cars expected to roll off the production lines.

The previous record for cars produced in a year stands at 330,000, but last year the figure was considerably lower at 301,000.

Nissan said demand for the Qashqai had exceeded expectations by 50 per cent, with 10,500 orders from across Europe during March - the model's first full month on sale.

The Micra C+C, which has a folding glass roof, will join the Qashqai on dealer forecourts across Japan in July. Although Japanese motorists have been driving the hatchback version of Micra since 2002, this will be their first opportunity to buy the car in its convertible form.

Designed, engineered and manufactured in Britain, the C+C began rolling off the Sunderland production line in November 2005, after a £95m project investment. Over the past 18 months, more than 23,000 have been exported to more than 45 markets around the world.

Initially, about 1,500 cars will be shipped to Japan, with the figure expected to grow according to demand.