Nissan Sunderland continues EV drive
Nissan has emphasised its commitment to UK manufacturing by announcing that five million units have now rolled off the lines at its Sunderland plant, while the first electric vehicle models are also now being delivered.
The Nissan Qashqai is now offered with Nissan’s unique e-POWER system, a first for the company in Europe, while its B-segment stablemate, the Nissan Juke, is now equipped with an advanced hybrid powertrain.
Alan Johnson, Nissan’s vice president for manufacturing in the UK, said: “With more than five million customers, Qashqai and Juke are two of our plant’s most successful and popular models ever. Both e-POWER and hybrid technologies are firsts for the team in Sunderland, so it’s fantastic to see the electrified versions rolling off our two production lines.”
The two electrified models are part of a previously announced £500m investment by Nissan into the plant to build the current generations of Qashqai and Juke. New facilities installed include a £10m state-of-the-art battery assembly facility, where battery packs are made for both the e-POWER and hybrid powertrains, before being delivered to be fitted into vehicles.
Johnson added: “Our plant is built on the foundations of 36 years of manufacturing excellence from our world-class people and advanced facilities. Two million hours of training just for electrification shows we are taking that to the next level, as we lead the charge towards an electrified future.”
