A NISSAN Leaf is providing the sparkle for Nissan Sunderland plant's Christmas display to celebrate production of 250,000 of the electric vehicle in the UK.

Demonstrating the ability of the Leaf to act as a mobile power plant, the lights on the 32-foot Christmas tree and its shimmering reindeer are being powered by the vehicle's battery, using V2X technology.

Alan Johnson, vice president manufacturing at Nissan Sunderland plant, said: "Passing a quarter of a million Nissan Leaf is a tremendous milestone, and demonstrates the electric vehicle manufacturing expertise we have built up at our plant over the past decade.

"This year we have completely electrified the plant's line-up with the new versions of Qashqai and Juke launched, so lighting up the Christmas tree with our original EV is a spectacular and appropriate way to end 2022."

The Nissan Leaf's vehicle-to-grid capability puts energy management back in the hands of the owner by turning their vehicle into a mobile energy hub.

Drivers can store electricity in their vehicle's battery and feed it to the grid, their building, or their Christmas Tree, when needed.

The technology allows electric vehicles to be fully integrated into the electricity grid and help improve grid capability to handle renewable power as well as managing energy more efficiently.

The Nissan Leaf, built in Sunderland for more than a decade, was the world's first mass-market electric vehicle.

The Nissan Qashqai, the record-breaking original crossover, is now offered with Nissan's unique e-Power system, a first for the company in Europe, while its B-segment stablemate, the Nissan Juke, is now equipped with an advanced hybrid powertrain.

In 2021 Nissan's Sunderland plant was announced as the home of EV36ZERO, a £1bn flagship electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production.

The plant is currently recruiting for various positions.