Nissan to Continue Production at Sunderland Plant

Japan’s biggest car manufacturer, Nissan has confirmed that it will build the new Qashqai and the X-Trail at its plant in Sunderland.

Nissan confirmed their plans after there had been doubts surrounding its activities following the EU referendum; the news comes after economic growth of 0.5% in three months after the vote, which was slower than the previous quarter but exceeded expectations by 0.2%.

The car maker’s decision secures around 7000 existing jobs and could lead to hundreds of new jobs being created in the coming years as the production of X- Trail is moved to the Sunderland plant.

Mr Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Nissan said he welcomed Prime Minister Theresa May's "commitment to the automotive industry in Britain".

His comments come after he warned last month that Nissan may not invest in the Sunderland plant unless the government guaranteed recompense for costs related new trade tariffs.

In his statement he 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 U.K. 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.”

Prime minster Theresa May also hailed the announcement as "fantastic news", adding: "This vote of confidence shows Britain is open for business."

While the business sectary Greg Clark added "The fact Nissan have not only made a long-term commitment to build the next generation Qashqai and X-Trail at Sunderland, but decided to upgrade their factory to a super-plant, manufacturing over 600,000 cars a year, is proof of the strength of the sector."

Nissan has invested more than £3.7 billion in the Sunderland plant which opened in 1986 and produced almost 9 million cars, and it remains the largest car plant in the UK.