Mandelson's visit to the North East

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He will also visit Smith Electric in nearby Washington, which has become a world-leader in making electric vans.

Later he will visit PETEC, the UK's national printable electronics technology centre in Sedgefield.

Nissan's Sunderland operation is Europe's most productive car plant. The minister wants to see for himself a concept version of the new Qazana model which will go into production next year.

The five-door Qazana was previewed at the Geneva Motor Show and is a compact 4x4 which will enter the market as a smaller version of the popular Qashqai.

Along with other car manufacturers in Britain, Nissan has reduced its output and announced in January it was cutting 1,200 from its 5,000-strong workforce.

Smith Electric is Ford's official collaborator on electric vans, producing a battery-electric version of the Ford Transit, which is on sale across Europe.

It will build a US-version of its electric van for Ford ready to launch next year.

PETEC carries out research and design for customers. Based at Sedgefield's hi-tech NETPark, it helps researchers get their ideas into the marketplace.