Nissan Sunderland to build next generation Juke and Qashqai

A full statement from Nissan is expected on Friday over the plant’s future

Nissan has safeguarded thousands of jobs by confirming that the upcoming electric Nissan Juke and Britian’s best-selling car, the Nissan Qashqai, will be produced at the company’s Sunderland plant – according to a report from Sky News. 

The Japanese giant is hosting an event at its Sunderland factory on Today where it’s expected to formally make the statement. Sky’s sources say that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt were involved in the discussions with Nissan and should play a role in the announcement. 

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The Sunderland factory’s future was in doubt as recently as 2021, when it benefitted from a trade deal between the UK and EU. Additional focus has been placed on the Nissan plant’s future and its electrification since plans for Britishvolt’s gigafactory in nearby Northumberland collapsed earlier this year with the firm narrowly avoiding administration. 

Nissan Sunderland already has plenty of experience building EVs. The first and second-generation Leaf have been built there and in 2021 the firm announced it would make the Leaf’s successor in Sunderland too. 

A £1bn “EV36Zero hub” will help bring these plans to fruition, which initially created 900 jobs at Nissan. Further plans for the next-generation Juke and Qashqai should create more jobs on top of this or at least secure the jobs of the existing workforce of over 6,000 people. Nissan said the EV36Zero hub could account for a 9GWh capacity but could expand to 35GWh – enough for 100,000 EVs to be built per year at Sunderland. 

Sky’s report came soon after chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the government’s Autumn Statement on Wednesday with £2 billion of support for zero-emissions in the automotive industry. Electric vehicle customers received no such help however as Hunt resisted calls for incentives for EV buyers and reduced VAT costs of public EV charging.

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