The Nissan production line

Nissan's production line in Washington, Tyne and Wear
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

Nissan opened Britain’s largest car plant in Sunderland in 1986
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

An employee on the production line. Parts travel through an automated chain of spark-firing weld robots and skilled workers fitting a dashboard every three seconds
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

A machine on the production line stamps out 22 car doors every minute
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

An employee fits a car door. Four decades ago a third of UK-made cars were exported. Now it is eight out of 10
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

A digital screen in the factory. Russia is its biggest market, and many cars go to Ukraine, Turkey and Morocco
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

A perfectly formed vehicle trundles out every 60 seconds
Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian