Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd (NMUK) is a British subsidiary car manufacturing plant in Sunderland. It is owned and operated by the European division of Japanese car manufacturer Nissan. Geography Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK is located in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, in North East England. It was built on the site of the former RAF Usworth airfield near the A19 and A1231. The factory is adjacent to the UK Nissan Distribution Centre (NDS) and has a number of on-site suppliers. The landscaped NMUK site incorporates conservation areas, such as ponds, lakes and woodland, and currently has 10 onsite wind turbines of the Vestas V47/660 type, producing up to 10% of the energy required for the plant. The site is located from the Port of Tyne where international distribution is also based. History Nissan had been importing cars from its native country Japan to the UK since 1968, under the Datsun brand (which was phased out between 1982 and 1984, when the Nissan brand took over completely). After a steady start, its market share rose dramatically from just over 6,000 car sales in 1971 to more than 30,000 a year later, and reaching 100,000 a year before the end of the decade, aided by competitive prices, good equipment levels and a reputation for producing reliable cars. The success of Datsun came at a time when the British car industry, particularly British Leyland, was blighted by strikes as well as reports of disappointing build quality and reliability of many of its cars. In February 1984, Nissan and the UK government signed an agreement to build a car plant in the UK. The following month a greenfield site in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, was chosen. As an incentive the land was offered to Nissan at agricultural prices; around £1,800 per acre. The North East region of England had recently undergone a period of industrial decline, with the closure of most of the shipyards on the Wear and Tyne, and the closure of many coal mines on the once prosperous Durham coalfield. The high unemployment this caused meant Nissan had a large, eager, manufacturing-skilled workforce to draw upon. The site, once the Sunderland Airfield (formerly RAF Usworth), was close to ports on the Wear and Tyne, within easy driving distance of the international Newcastle Airport, and close to major trunk roads such as the A1 and A19, as well as major ports for the