CLIMBING out of a car, Prince Charles gave a nod of approval to staff.

The vehicle didn’t move an inch at Nissan’s vast Sunderland plant, but he was still content.

Flanked by staff, an army of media and workmen straining for a view from nearby extension work, His Royal Highness was on a tour of the Japanese car maker’s North-East base.

A staunch supporter of lowering carbon emissions, he spent time on its production line yesterday, speaking to workers about its groundbreaking all-electric Leaf.

The Leaf went into production at the factory in 2013 and Nissan says it has sold more than 7,000 in the UK.

For the Prince, it was a case of going full circle.

Back in 1986, on a trip to Japan, he took part in a traditional good luck ceremony to mark the start of production at the Sunderland plant.

Painting the eye of a Daruma doll, which is said to bring good luck, he also took a ride in one of the company’s electric vehicles at its Zama factory.

Nearly three decades later he was back, though this time the doll was replaced by a plaque unveiling.

Nissan’s Sunderland plant employs nearly 7,000 workers, and at one stage, it seemed the vast majority had been lined up for a chat as the Prince wandered from one part of the factory to the next.

Darren Ord, a supervisor on the Qashqai and Leaf production line, where one in every ten vehicles rolling off is an electric car, was one of those workers.

Mr Ord said the Prince was keen to find out about staff.

He said: “He took a lot of interest in what we do and the people that are here.

“He also asked about our hours and was surprised that the production line is non-stop, saying we must be like ships in the night with our partners.

“What also impressed him was how fast the cars were moving along, and he praised us for running a tight ship.”

Leaving the noisy production line behind, the Prince also visited the firm’s global training centre.

The hub is part of Gateshead College’s skills academy for sustainability, manufacturing and innovation, and has flags from Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa on its walls, which reflect its valuable status as a training base for Nissan staff worldwide.

But the site is also where more than 1,000 apprentices have learned their trade and the next generation of schoolchildren are inspired.

During his visit, those youngsters included a group of Industrial Cadets, who are part of a national youth skills programme stemming from a trip the Prince made to Tata’s North-East steelworks in 2010.

It was at that time he urged company bosses to raise aspirations for local youngsters.

Full circle again, then.

Paul Willcox, Nissan Europe’s chairman, said His Royal Highness, who didn’t speak to the media on his visit, was suitably impressed by what he saw.

He added: ““We were honoured to receive a visit.

“As a company, we have some very unique properties, including sustainability, and with a lifelong interest in that, he was keen to see the Leaf in production.”

The visit was a high-profile start to 2015 for the company, which made more than 500,000 vehicles for a third consecutive year in 2014.

The factory produced 500,237 cars in the year, helped by strong demand for its ever-popular Qashqai and the Leaf hatchback.

But such success is not uncommon at the company.

Indeed, as the Prince was clambering from his car, just yards away large Infiniti signs partly masked the company’s next move.

The plant’s reputation with the company’s senior ranks means it will this year start making the sporty Q30 hatchback, with the site being extended by those workmen craning their necks.

It will become the first Sunderland-built car exported to the US, with bosses expecting it to rival Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes.

A team from the North-East previously travelled to Japan to refine prototypes of the luxurious model, with production trials due to start next month ahead of car making in August.

The plant is being extended and 280 staff recruited to make it capable of producing up to 60,000 Infiniti vehicles a year.