Nissan Celebrates 25 Years of Manufacturing in the UK
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VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA – Sept 12, 2011: Nissan Sunderland Plant has marked the 25th anniversary of its official opening in September 1986.
In the 25 years since, Nissan Sunderland Plant has rewritten the record books for UK car production, with volumes increasing from 5,139 Bluebirds in that first year to 423,262 cars in 2010 – which was the first time ever that a UK car plant had made more than 400,000 vehicles in one year.
Nissan Australia began imports of the K12 Micra from Sunderland in 2007 and now sources its success Dualis models from the plant.
Nissan has manufactured more than 6.2 million vehicles and 12 different models at Sunderland, including Bluebird, Primera, Micra, Almera, Note, Qashqai/Dualis and Juke.
“As the UK’s largest car plant, biggest car exporter, and soon battery plant - with battery production for the Nissan LEAF planned for next year - Sunderland is a beacon of Nissan’s leadership in manufacture and technology which define a global car company in the 21st century,” said Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motor Co.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: "I welcome Nissan's continued investment and the important role Nissan is playing in helping to rebalance our economy.
"With the design, development and manufacture of their new generation Qashqai all taking place in the UK, Nissan has restated its confidence in the skills of its British workforce and in the UK's manufacturing sector."
Of the 430 people who were employed at the plant in September 1986, 133 remain employed at Sunderland. This 25th anniversary year has been a special one for Nissan in the UK. In June Nissan’s Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn visited the UK to announce that the next generation of the Nissan Qashqai would be designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK, just as the Qashqai became the fastest UK-made car to reach one million units.
Staff are now gearing up for production starting at the company’s new lithium-ion battery plant in the New Year, ahead of Nissan LEAF production beginning at Sunderland in 2013. Production of the new Qashqai/Dualis will take Nissan’s total investment in its UK manufacturing base to $A5.1 billion.
Nissan in the UK