Engineering news
Plans by Japanese car giant Nissan to build a new hatchback at its Sunderland plant are a “big vote of confidence” in the UK industry, the company has said. The move should create more than 1,000 jobs at the site and in component companies.
The new medium-sized model will be built in Sunderland in 2014, bringing an additional 225 jobs to the factory and 900 to component suppliers.
The move follows an announcement last month that the North East plant will also produce from next year a compact car based on the so-called Invitation concept model.
Speaking to BBC's Breakfast programme, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Nissan's vice-president for manufacturing in the UK, said: “We've just announced the fourth new model to be launched between now and 2014. This will put the plant on 24-hour running so it does secure a lot of jobs. It's over 1,000 jobs so it is significant for the region.
“It's too early for the new car to be named or to give any technical details. But it will be a C-segment hatchback so it will be in direct competition with the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra.
“It's a big vote for the car industry. We're not the only one to have made a lot of positive announcements lately.
“The car industry in the UK is pretty buoyant at the moment, particularly the companies which have strong products and strong export markets.”
Nissan's two new models will result in more than 3,000 jobs being created in the UK automotive sector within the next two years – 625 at Nissan and the rest across the supply base.
Once recruitment for both models is complete, the Sunderland plant's workforce will stand at a record 6,225, supporting annual production of more than 500,000 cars.