Engineering news
Production of the Nissan Juke at Nissan Sunderland plant
Nissan has announced an £100 million investment in its manufacturing plant in Sunderland for the production of its next generation Nissan Juke.
Following the launch of the second-generation Nissan Qashqai in 2013, the confirmation for future production of the next generation Juke model points to a secure future for both production lines in Sunderland and the jobs of 34,000 people currently employed by Nissan and its British suppliers beyond 2020.
Paul Willcox, Nissan Europe chairman, said: "With the next generation Juke now confirmed for future production, customers can be assured that Nissan is going to remain the benchmark in the crossover segment for many years to come.
"This announcement also gives security to our Sunderland plant beyond 2020, which the team has earned through many years of hard work and their ability to continually raise the bar on quality."
Nissan said that in a “further boost to the UK car industry” Nissan's European design team in Paddington, London, and European Engineering Headquarters in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, will be “instrumental in the development of this new model”.
The UK's chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, said: "Our ambitious plan to build the Northern Powerhouse means building on the area's strengths - including manufacturing - and this announcement is an important sign of Britain being chosen as a global leader in car production."
Rachel Eade, automotive lead at the business growth service, said: “News of Nissan’s £100 million investment into its Sunderland plant to build the next generation Juke crossover is great news for the North East and reinforces the ongoing investment in skills and capacity improvements across the UK automotive supply chain…all gearing towards securing long-term investment and continued increases in volume production.
“The deal is positive for the domestic sector as a whole, as we have many auto suppliers across the country who design and manufacture components that go into the various Nissan models. With the strength of the pound causing some concern, it is definitely a shot in the arm for the global reputation of our world class engineering and manufacturing skills.”
Since it's launch in 2010, Juke is Nissan's second best-selling car in Europe. This has seen the Sunderland plant achieving 500,000 volumes in each of the past three years, with 80% of output exported to over 130 markets. Current models also produced at the plant include the Nissan Note and the all-electric Nissan LEAF, with production of the Infiniti Q30 due to begin later this year.
Nissan employs nearly 8,000 people in its UK design, engineering and manufacturing operations, supporting an additional 27,000 jobs in the UK supply chain plus 3,900 in dealerships.