NISSAN has denied speculation that its Sunderland plant is to manufacturer the first cars to have a common Nissan/Renault platform.

The manufacturer entered into an alliance with Renault in March, when the French manufacturer paid more than £3billion for a 36% share in the Nissan group.

Nissan says a cross-management working group to co-ordinate combined operations will not be formed until July and no decisions involving the two companies are being made until after then.

Nissan confirmed that a Renault Clio/Nissan Micra replacement would share a common platform in the future and would mark the first visible signs of the companies' co-operation but it had not been decided where the models will be built.