Nissan confirms production of next-gen Qashqai and X-Trail at Sunderland plant

Nissan Motor Company today announced that it will produce the next Qashqai and will add production of the next X-Trail model at its Sunderland, UK plant.

The Japanese carmaker's announcement ends rumours that the Sunderland plant could downsize following the Brexit vote.

Nissan’s decision follows the UK government’s commitment to ensure that the Sunderland plant remains competitive. As a result, Nissan will increase its investment in Sunderland, ensuring the survival of the jobs of more than 7,000 workers at the plant.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of Nissan said: “I am pleased to announce that Nissan will continue to invest in Sunderland. Our employees there continue to make the plant a globally competitive powerhouse, producing high-quality, high-value products every day. The support and assurances of the UK government enabled us to decide that the next-generation Qashqai and X-Trail will be produced at Sunderland. I welcome British Prime Minister Theresa May’s commitment to the automotive industry in Britain and to the development of an overall industrial strategy.”

The news follows the announcement from the Office for National Statistics that Britain's economy grew by 0.5% between July and September.

Commenting on Nissan decision, Mike Hawes, chief executive, SMMT said, “Today’s announcement is good news for UK Automotive and jobs, confirming Britain as a leader in automotive production. To secure this position, however, we need government to provide public assurance to investors that our advantages will be maintained – namely, a competitive business environment, the ability to recruit talent from abroad and the continuation of all the benefits of the single market as we leave the EU.”

Nissan’s Sunderland plant opened in 1986 and has produced almost 9 million cars since. One in three British cars are produced in Sunderland, which is the UK’s largest car plant of all time. In addition, 80% of production from Sunderland is exported to over 130 international markets. More than 2 million Qashqai’s have been built in Sunderland in less than 10 years. In addition to the 7,000 direct employees at Sunderland, the plant supports a further 28,000 British automotive supply chain jobs. To date, Nissan has invested more than £3.7 billion in Sunderland.

You may like:

- How Nissan's new model production will boost the UK's auto supply chain

- UK car exports pass the million mark in 2016