What's all this about?

There's some good news for the UK car manufacturing industry, as Nissan has confirmed production of the all-new Leaf electric vehicle (EV) will begin at the Nissan Motoring Manufacturing plant in Sunderland at the end of 2017.

Will Sunderland be building all Nissan Leaf MkIIs?

No, production will be split between the north-east and also Nissan's Vehicle Assembly Plant in Smyrna, Tennessee in the US, as well as the company's Oppama Plant in Japan.

What does the company say?

"We're proud to continue manufacturing the Nissan Leaf at three plants globally," said Fumiaki Matsumoto, executive vice president of Nissan Motor Co for manufacturing and supply chain management. "The Nissan Leaf is the icon of Nissan Intelligent Mobility with its many advanced technologies. Nissan employees in Oppama, Smyrna and Sunderland are excited to continue producing the most popular electric vehicle in the world."

Where did Nissan build the previous generation of the Leaf?

At the same three plants, Oppama getting the ball rolling in 2010, with Sunderland and Smyrna coming online in 2013. For the new model, the batteries will be produced at Sunderland, Smyrna and another facility in Japan, called Zama. The new car, possessed of a 235-mile range, 150hp and 320Nm, goes on sale in its homeland on October 2, with launches in Europe, the US and Canada following in the months soon after. Nissan has also confirmed that an even higher-powered, longer-range Leaf model will hit the streets later in 2018. It means the pure EV revolution is properly gathering pace - any family hatchback that can go 250 miles-plus and cost peanuts to run, without polluting the Earth, is sure to be a huge success.