A CAR maker has revealed sales of an electric vehicle made in the North-East have smashed the 20,000 mark.

Nissan says UK sales of its Leaf hatchback have gone beyond the milestone figure.

Bosses added the number reflects motorists’ rising interest in greener cars, with the 20,000th deal coming less than two years after Nissan clocked up 10,000 sales.

The model, which Nissan says is the world’s best-selling all-electric model, is made for the UK and Europe at Nissan’s near 7,000-strong job Sunderland plant, with around 55 rolling off the production line every day.

Revealing it took the company just eight months to go from 15,000 to 20,000 sales, Edward Jones, electric vehicle manager at Nissan Motor (GB), said: “Hitting the sales milestone is further proof that the electric revolution is taking hold in the UK.

“We’ve seen more demand for the Leaf in the past 12 months than we had in the first three-and-a-half years of the car being on sale and the number of customers who go on to buy another Leaf is also significantly higher than the industry average.”

Mr Jones added 19,500 models rolled off the production line from April 2016 to the end of March this year.

The Leaf was launched in 2011 before being revised in 2013, when production started on Wearside.

Earlier this year, bosses revealed a Leaf had become the nine millionth vehicle to be made on its Sunderland lines since the factory’s 1986 opening.

Nissan previously revealed it will complement work on the Leaf by making next generation Qashqai and X-Trail models at Sunderland.

It is understood work on the new Qashqai could start in 2018, while it will be the first time the 4x4 X-Trail has been built for European markets outside of Japan.

However, the firm has warned it will review its Wearside plant once the workings of a Brexit deal are finalised, despite previously saying Government assurances over export arrangements gave it confidence to stay.