Nissan will on Tuesday announce it is bringing production of a new small sport utility vehicle to its Sunderland plant in north-east England, with help from the government.

Gordon Brown, prime minister, is to meet Carlos Ghosn, the Japanese carmaker’s chief executive, in London to announce a package of support that will include grant assistance, say people familiar with the plans. Nissan already produces the Qashqai small SUV in Sunderland and recently added a third shift to take production above 200,000 this year. The new model is ex­pected to be smaller than the Qashqai and produced in volumes of at least 100,000, industry people said.