Nissan unveils new Sunderland line
Nissan has unveiled a new £52m XL press line at its Sunderland plant. The line will manufacture the next generation Qashqai.
The press, which weighs more than 2,000 tonnes and has taken 18 months to install, is part of a £400m investment by Nissan in readiness for the new Qashqai.
Chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta, said: “When the first Nissan Qashqai rolled off the line in Sunderland in 2006 it created the crossover segment. Designed, engineered and made in the UK, and more than three million vehicles later, it remains the benchmark, just as our team in the UK continues to set the standard for productivity and quality.”
The £52m investment in the new press includes a new recycling system to segregate and process scrap, and upgrades to the existing blanking line which will supply flat blanks to the XL press. It is capable of stamping more than 6.1 million vehicle panels a year, with a maximum combined force of 5,400 tonnes, all to pinpoint accuracy.
Steve Marsh, vice president, manufacturing, at Nissan Sunderland Plant, said: “Watching the first perfect panels coming off the press was a proud moment, and is a reflection of the tremendous skills we have here on Wearside. Juke is an iconic model. I know I speak for the whole plant in saying how proud we are to see the fantastic new version out on the roads, and that we are determined to keep delivering it to the quality levels our customers have come to expect.”
