The new electric versions of Nissan’s crossover models are now rolling off the lines at the motor manufacturer’s Sunderland Plant.
The Nissan Qashqai is now available with the firm’s e-power system in a first for the firm in Europe, and its Nissan Juke is equipped with an advanced hybrid powertrain. A new £10m assembly line has powered up at the Washington site, where batteries packs are made for both the e-Power and hybrid powertrains, before being delivered to be fitted into vehicles.
The new electric versions have been launched as combined production of the two crossover models has passed five million in the North East. The firm said that the design and manufacture of the Qashqai and Juke support more than 7,000 jobs at its sites in Sunderland, Paddington, Maple Cross, Cranfield, Lutterworth as well as a further 30,000 in the wider UK supply chain and about 5,000 in UK dealerships.
Read more: Dragons' Den entrepreneur Sara Davies warns of hoaxers
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 form part of a previously announced £500m investment by Nissan into the Wearside site, to build the Qashqai and Juke.
The investment has included the installation of the £10m state-of-the-art battery assembly facility, as well as building a team with the skills to deliver the new electrified vehicles.
Mr Johnson said that, since the launch of the firm’s first elecric car back - the Leaf - back in 2011, staff at Nissan Sunderland Plant have undergone more than two million hours of trainin, dedicated to manufacturing electrified vehicles, with more planned in the future.
Mr 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.
“And of course we’ll continue to deliver brilliant, technologically advanced, cars to the high standards of quality that our customers have come to love.”
The start of production follows the announcement of the Sunderland Plant as the home of EV36Zero, a £1bn flagship electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production.
READ NEXT
Data analytics specialist Serios Group on the move
