EACH year the World Markets Research Centre publishes a list of Europe's most cost-effective car plants. Manufacturers jockey for position lower down the ranks but one name always sits proudly at the top - Nissan Sunderland.

For the past two decades Nissan's North-East workforce has set benchmarks for flexibility, efficiency and productivity.

It is that remarkable flexibility that has won the plant two new models in recent months.

The Tone medium-sized hatch is due on sale next year. It will be followed by the Qashqai - pronounced Cash-ki - an exciting cross-over model that will take Nissan into new territory.

When the additions are on stream Nissan UK's annual production will touch the 400,000 mark, making Sunderland Britain's biggest car manufacturer by a comfortable margin.

Production at its nearest rival, the Toyota plant at Burnaston in Derbyshire, was 244,000 in 2004.

To put Nissan's output into perspective, by 2007 five thousand North-East workers will be making more cars than the entire output of Portugal, Austria and the Netherlands combined.

For a short time, the plant will be producing six models: the Primera family car in hatchback and saloon variants, the Almera in similar configurations, the Micra supermini, the Micra C + C coupe-cabriolet, the Tone and the Qashqai. Production of the Almera will be slowly phased out as demand for the Tone and the Qashqai increases.

Ultimately these two models will replace the Almera altogether. Nissan's future plans call for more niche models specifically aimed at certain types of buyer rather than "catch all" designs like a Ford Focus or a Vauxhall Astra.

It's a direction the entire industry has begun to embrace. Buyers today don't want bland "Euro-boxes" they want cars with personality that help them stand out as individuals.

Sunderland's adaptability made it the natural home for the new additions. Twenty years ago adding model to a factory meant buying a costly new production line. Nissan Sunderland has pioneered the ability to build more than one car on the same line.

So the factory has the capacity to manufacture six different models plus all their variations in colour and trim using only two production lines.

Each car travels down the line with a sheet attached to the windscreen. This build history tells staff the parts to fit.

Attention to detail is second-to-none. Every member of staff follows the Nissan "production bible" for car assembly. This document delves into the smallest details even down to which fingers should be used to pick up parts and which hand should hold a tool.

The line only holds enough parts for about 20 minutes of construction. Tow trucks and fork lifts are constantly ferrying components to work stations. It's this "just in time" method that makes Nissan such an industry productivity leader.

And the requirement for a constant flow of components into the factory has led to a cluster of suppliers springing up in the region. Nissan may employ 5,000 people directly, but four times as many people depend on their success for continued employment with local component suppliers.

The Japanese group has brought more than prosperity to the region. The University of Sunderland has an international reputation for automotive engineering built with help from Nissan.

Professor John MacIntyre, Associate Dean and Head of Automotive Technology, acknowledged his gratitude to Nissan: "Everything they do is world-class and with their help we have been able to take this best practice to the region's wider manufacturing sector. Nissan's success is our success."

This year the World Markets Research Centre did not publish its traditional productivity list. Officially the results are merely on hold due to a change in the way the figures are calculated.

However the productivity is measured, you can be certain Sunderland's name will still be occupying the number one slot well into the future