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Thousands of Sunderland jobs safeguarded as Nissan reveals new £100m investment

Thousands of North East jobs are set to be secured as Nissan plans to invest £100m into its Sunderland plant.

The Japanese vehicle company will use its Sunderland base to build the next generation of its ‘Juke’ model, a move which Chancellor George Osborne cites as a reflection of Britain’s Northern Powerhouse manufacturing strength.

The Chancellor told Sky News: “It’s fantastic news that Nissan will be building their new car here in Sunderland and securing valuable jobs for thousands of working people in the area.

“Our ambitious plan to build the Northern Powerhouse means building on the area’s strengths - including manufacturing - and this announcement is an important sign of Britain being chosen as a global leader in car production.”

Nissan’s Sunderland factory employs 6,700 people, where the plant also produces the Qashqai, Note and electric Leaf models in addition to the Juke, which first entered production in 2010 following more than 22,000 pre-orders.

The new Juke, which will be designed by engineers in London and Bedfordshire, will be a crossover car - a hybrid of an estate model with the aesthetics of a smaller four wheel drive.

Paul Willcox, Nissan Europe chairman, said: “The Juke’s unique design is one of the reasons Nissan is now the undisputed crossover leader, underpinning five consecutive years of sales growth in Europe.

“With the next generation Juke now confirmed for future production, customers can be assured that Nissan is going to remain the benchmark in the crossover segment for many years to come.

“This announcement also gives security to our Sunderland plant beyond 2020, which the team has earned through many years of hard work and their ability to continually raise the bar on quality.”