Nissan's Sunderland plant in north east England has resumed vehicle production after almost three months, with a new Juke B-SUV the first unit off the line.

The automaker said it had dedicated "hundreds" of hours of preparation to ensure the safe return of employees.

Every operation across the plant had been "rigorously risk assessed to make sure it's safe, with more than 5,000 processes reviewed to ensure safety at all times".

Alan Johnson, VP for UK manufacturing, said in a statement: "It's great to see cars rolling off the line at the plant again.

"It's a testament to the skill and dedication of the team here that we have been able to get back up and running again with a full set of safety measures in place."

Improved safety measures include new separation between operators, such as screens, barriers and dividers, as well as one way systems across the site.

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Rest areas have been redesigned and break times rescheduled to support social distancing and remove common touchpoints.

Staff are provided with all the necessary PPE they need to operate safely.

Sunderland safety protocols were first implemented in a pilot activity involving the Powertrain team which began late in April and initially involved around 50 workers.

With cars due to be shipped to customers across Europe, new health and safety measures have been introduced across the dealer network in line with government recommendations.

These include guidance on social distancing procedures, additional safety equipment and hygiene regulations.

Consequently, the automaker has opened fully 95% of its dealer network across Europe.

Showrooms in Baltics, Belarus, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine are fully open.

Outlets in Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom are nearly all open and dealers in Russia are partially open for business.

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