NISSAN LAUNCHES PRODUCTION OF THE NEW NISSAN NOTE FOR EUROPE
- New Nissan Note goes into production at Sunderland Plant
- £125m investment in the UK has created 2,000 automotive jobs
- UK Business Minister to attend special ceremony on production line
Sunderland (September 16, 2013) Nissan is today celebrating the start of production of the new Nissan Note at its record-breaking Sunderland Plant.
Already the UK's biggest ever car plant, the new Note is set to boost production even further in Sunderland following a £125m investment by Nissan, secured for the UK with a £9.3m grant from the UK Government's Regional Growth Fund.
The official start of production is being marked at a ceremony on Line 2 at Sunderland Plant by John Martin, Nissan's Senior Vice President for Manufacturing, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management in Europe, with the UK's Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Michael Fallon, in attendance.
The new Note's design and technology has already caught the attention of customers, with Nissan dealers across Europe taking more than 14,000 pre-orders since the order books opened in July.
SVP Martin said: "The new Nissan Note is giving mainstream B-segment customers an unprecedented combination of design, technology and safety features which up to now have only been available in premium brands.
"This investment is further endorsement of our Sunderland Plant, which is now an international benchmark for productivity and quality as a result of the hard work and consistently high performance by the management and workforce.
"I would like to congratulate all of my colleagues at the plant and in our supply base on the launch of this new model, and once again thank the UK Government for their ongoing support for the automotive industry."
In addition to vehicle assembly, the new Note has brought additional work to Nissan Sunderland Plant and its supply chain in axle production, cylinder head casting, camshaft machining and engine assembly.
In total, the upgraded Nissan Note is responsible for 2,000 new jobs in the UK automotive industry, including 400 staff at Nissan's workforce at Sunderland, taking the number of British jobs supported by Nissan to more than 35,000.
Business Minister Michael Fallon said: "The investment by Nissan to make the Note at the world class Sunderland plant has been achieved by Government and industry working together. It provides a very welcome boost to their exceptional workforce, the North East economy and the country.
"Working in partnership with industry, our automotive industrial strategy sets out how we will secure the long term future of the sector as a UK success story by growing our share of the value chain and by getting ahead of the game in research and development on the vehicles of tomorrow."
Designed to perfectly meet the demands of today's B segment customer, the new Nissan Note has benefited from extensive European development, tailored for European buyers. With engineering and development work for the new Note completed at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in both the UK and Spain, the new Note has been designed to perfectly meet the demands of today's small car customer.
The new Note also continues the Nissan tradition of bringing bold design and exciting new technologies to a new area of the market. Customers will benefit from a raft of innovative features relevant and useful in day to day driving.
The new Note heralds the beginning of Nissan's busiest launch period in its history in Europe, supporting the company's goal of becoming the number 1 Asian brand in Europe. With design, engineering and manufacturing operations all based within Europe, over 80% of the Nissan cars sold in Europe are made in Europe.
Nissan is continuing to recruit for a range of positions, with all jobs and further information available at the website http://www.careersatnissan.co.uk/
The new Nissan Note is available to pre-order now. Customers can find out more by visiting http://www.nissan-europe.com/
NOTES TO EDITORS
About Nissan in the UK
More than one in three cars built in the UK is a Nissan, which has been Britain's biggest car producer since 1998. More then £3.5bn has been invested in Nissan's world-renowned Sunderland Plant, which started production in 1986 and now exports 80% of production to 97 markets. Nissan continues to raise the bar for the automotive industry and has set new UK production records in each of the past three years, reaching 510,572 vehicles in 2012.
Other UK operations include Nissan's European Design Centre in Paddington, London, Nissan's Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and Nissan's UK Sales and Marketing headquarters in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. Through these sites and in UK dealerships Nissan currently employs 11,000 people in Britain, supporting a further 24,000 jobs in UK suppliers.
Current production at Nissan Sunderland Plant includes the Nissan Qashqai, the 100% electric Nissan LEAF, the Nissan Note, Nissan Juke and Juke NISMO.
Also announced for future production at the plant are the next-generation Nissan Qashqai and a new premium compact model under the Infiniti brand.
About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with approximately 236,000 employees globally, Nissan sold more than 4.9 million vehicles and generated revenue of 9.6 trillion yen (USD 116.16 billion) in fiscal 2012. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of over 60 models under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now the best-selling EV in history.
For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/