A CAR made in the North-East has pushed sales of a luxury marque to new levels.

Infiniti says the Q30, made at Nissan’s Sunderland plant, is fuelling the company’s European growth.

Bosses say the sporty hatchback has already helped the company sell more vehicles in the first five months of this year than in the whole of 2015.

According to latest Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) figures, Infiniti sold 335 cars in the UK in April and 137 in May, meaning its year-to-date total is about 100 per cent higher than last year.

Across Western Europe, sales in May hit 870, which represented an increase of 118 per cent year-on-year, while total year-to-date sales touched 8,000, 182 per cent stronger than 12 months ago.

The Q30 is the first new car brand to be made in the UK on such a scale in 23 years and Infiniti’s first vehicle to be manufactured in Europe.

The move represents a £250m investment in Sunderland and bosses say the Q30 will be crucial to breaking into the continent’s premium car sector, where rivals such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes hold sway.

The car, which carries the marque of Nissan’s deluxe sister brand, will soon be joined by QX30, with both primed to become the first premium models to be made at Sunderland’s 6,800-job plant and exported to the US and China.

Barry Beeston, Infiniti UK director, said: “It’s great to see such strong growth and our increase during the early months of 2016 shows Infiniti’s continuous momentum.

“As we grow, we naturally push further into all channels in the UK to gain market share and early signs show we have an even sales split between fleet and retail, which is a good indicator Infiniti is heading in the right direction for future growth and profitability.”

Roland Krueger, Infiniti president, added: “As we introduce the Q30 and QX30 into more markets around the world, we are confident we can carry on this momentum into the future.”

Mr Krueger added Infiniti sold around 18,000 vehicles globally in May, while sales for the year-to-date stood at about 91,000.

The Q30 has joined a Wearside production line that already boasts the Qashqai, Juke, Note and all-electric Leaf.

However, The Northern Echo previously exclusively revealed the Sunderland plant will stop making the Note as the Japanese company targets growth from extra Qashqai work in the region and a new French-made Micra.