The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were on duty this week when they were asked to open a new bridge in Sunderland, and rather than the official designation of Royal chartered vehicle transporting them to the bridge, they took a surprising choice of motor.
Of course, with the bridge being located in Sunderland, there was no choice other than a Nissan to deliver Will and Kate to the Northern Spire Bridge, the huge Nissan plant can be seen from the bridge and the Royal couple arrived to the opening ceremony in a fleet of Nissans.
But it wasn’t the popular Qashqai that dropped the Duke and Duchess off at their engagement, but the more environmentally friendly Nissan Leaf, which is perhaps a good way to symbolise Sunderland’s bright new future.
The Japanese manufacturer now employs 7,000 workers in Wearside and has played a huge role in the regeneration of the area. The plant has built three million Qashqais in the past decade, alongside the forward-thinking LEAF, Juke, Infiniti Q30 and QX30.
With the government keen to drive the UK public towards greener cars over the next two decades they will have been delighted to see the LEAF receive the Royal seal of approval.