Nissan produces the Micra and Sunny as well as the Evalia multipurpose vehicle at the facility.
WSJ: Renault, Nissan Expanding Capacity of India Joint-Venture Plant
Building the Micra there within the eurozone would not carry the same currency risk.
The driver of a Ford Focus which was behind the Micra also suffered a head injury.
The vehicles involved were a silver Nissan Micra, a blue Suzuki Vitara and a black Mercedes C200.
The Micra and Sunny are nearly identical to the Pulse and Scala, with some exterior and interior modifications.
WSJ: Renault, Nissan Expanding Capacity of India Joint-Venture Plant
The male driver of the Micra suffered serious injuries including collapsed lungs, broken ribs and a broken leg.
Courtney Meppen-Walter, 18, killed brother and sister Kulwant Singh and Ravel Kaur when his Mercedes hit their Nissan Micra in September.
BBC: Death crash family sue Man City's Courtney Meppen-Walter
Nissan is likely to make an announcement soon about the the new Micra, which is due to come out in 2003.
If Sunderland loses out, the job to build the new Micra could go to a factory on the outskirts of Paris run.
In the French village of Flins, north west of Paris, lies the Renault factory where Nissan is thinking of building the new Micra.
But Nissan's boss, Carlos Ghosn, points out that these two things alone will not be enough to secure the Micra work for Sunderland.
Nissan has said it may not build the new model of the Micra there, because the strength of sterling is eating into profits.
Nissan's plan had been to expand Sunderland's output to 500, 000 cars a year, with the introduction of a new version of its Micra car.
James Storry's Audi S5 was seen travelling at up to 80mph on a 40mph road in Trowell, Nottinghamshire, before striking a tractor and then a Nissan Micra.
Mrs Kaur's 16 and 17-year-old sons, who were in the back of the Micra and seriously injured in the collision, are now orphans as their father was killed in Afghanistan, police said.
BBC: Death crash family sue Man City's Courtney Meppen-Walter
The Mexico-produced Nissan March compact sold in Latin America received a two-star rating from Latin NCAP, while the version sold for about the same price in Europe, called the Micra, scored four stars.
Bosses at Nissan are worried that it would not be cost effective to build the new Micra model at the UK plant in Sunderland, even though it is the most productive in Europe.
Sir Ranulph's car was in collision with a Nissan Micra travelling in the opposite direction, then a Ford Focus, before it mounted a pavement and came to a halt near the front window of an Italian restaurant.
Nissan has said that it is considering building the new Micra at its Barcelona factory or a plant of its French partner Renault because of the UK Government's failure to set out a timetable for joining the euro.
应用推荐