Nissan has confirmed it will produce the next-generation electric versions of its Qashqai and Juke, as well as the replacement for the Leaf EV at its Sunderland plant.
Announced today (November 24), it helps to futureproof the UK’s largest car factory that produced more than 30 per cent of all new cars made in Britain last year. Nissan says it helps to secure jobs for its 7,000 UK employees and the 30,000 jobs supported in its supply chain.
Nissan says it will create its own electric car ‘ecosystem’ in Sunderland and will have three gigafactories producing the batteries needed for its EVs, as well as using renewable electricity supplied by its network of solar and wind farms.
The three new models are set to all arrive ahead of 2030, the date when Nissan ‘expects’ its line-up of cars in Europe to be completely electric.
The £3bn investment to ready the factory for this comes from Nissan as well as external partners such as battery manufacturers.
With this being such important news for the UK automotive industry, we look at the key things you need to know about Nissan’s Sunderland factory and its future.
When did Nissan start producing cars in Sunderland?
Nissan’s Sunderland factory started production on September 8, 1986, and – demonstrating its importance – was opened by the then Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher. At the time, the area was in need of a jobs boost, with the plant employing just under 500 people at the time, which has now grown to a workforce of around 6,000 people, with a further 30,000 jobs in the wider supply chain.
The first Nissan to be produced at the plant was the Bluebird.
How many cars does Nissan Sunderland make in Sunderland?
Nissan celebrated the production of its 11 millionth vehicle in the UK in June 2023, with the firm saying that, on average, a new car has rolled off the line at the plant every two minutes, every hour of the day, for 37 years.
Last year, 238,000 Nissans rolled off the production lines at Sunderland, accounting for more than 30 per cent of the total 775,000 new cars made in the UK in 2022. While it’s by some margin the biggest car factory in Britain, it is some way off the peak 500,000 cars that it was producing in 2016.
Which cars has Nissan made in Sunderland in the past?
Nissan has made a whole range of different cars in the 37 years that the Sunderland plant has been opened. It started out in 1986 with the Bluebird, before this was replaced by the Primera in 1990. This carried on until the mid-2000s but was joined by models such as the Almera and Micra in the meantime.
In more recent years, Nisan manufactured the oddball Note mini-MPV. At the same time, Nissan’s premium division Infiniti, also produced the Q30 hatchback at the plant until the brand as a whole pulled out of Europe in 2019.
What cars does Nissan currently make in Sunderland?
Nissan currently produces three models in Sunderland – the Qashqai, Juke and Leaf – and exports cars from the plant to a remarkable 137 countries.
The Qashqai remains its key product, with this model alone accounting for more than a fifth of all cars manufactured in the UK last year. The Qashqai is often coined as the first ‘crossover’, which blended SUV looks with hatchback usability and running costs, and remains hugely popular. It was, in fact, the UK’s best-selling car overall in 2022.
Closely behind the Qashqai is the Juke. It’s a smaller crossover with coupe-like styling that has always stood out with its bold design since its creation in 2010. It’s a regular feature in the list of best-selling cars too.
Last but not least is the electric Leaf hatchback, now in its second generation. Nissan started producing the model here in 2012, and it was one of the first mass-market EVs, and for many years was the best-selling electric car. While it’s been overtaken by newer rivals in many respects, it remains good value and still sells in good numbers.
What are the future electric Nissan models expected to look like?
Nissan hasn’t announced too many details about what to expect from the replacements for the Leaf, Qashqai and Juke, but there are some details that are known.
The current Leaf is now Nissan’s oldest product and is expected to be the first to get a significant refresh. It was previewed by the ‘Chill-Out Concept’ back in 2021 and shows that the model will evolve from a hatchback into a crossover.
Second up is the Juke, which has recently been previewed by the ‘Hyper Punk Concept’ shown at last month’s Tokyo motor show. It is expected to get a radical reinvention, as shown by this shown car.
Last but not least will come the Qashqai’s replacement, which is expected to arrive nearer the end of the decade given the current model has only recently arrived on sale. This has been previewed with the Hyper Urban Concept, again shown at the Tokyo show.
