Nissan Ramps Up UK Car Production

The Japanese carmaker is investing £250 million in its Sunderland plant in the north of England, bringing a thousand jobs, while Europe's car industry is at its lowest point in twenty years.

Published

5 months ago

Categories

World

Topics

Europe, Auto

Places

France, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom

Companies

Nissan Motor Co.,Ltd., Peugeot

Transcript

Taking production up a few gears, Japanese car maker Nissan will build a new version of its luxury brand Infiniti in the UK. Production will start in 2015, bringing a thousand jobs. Nissan's executive vice president, Colin Dodge (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH)COLIN DODGE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF PERFORMANCE OFFICER, NISSAN, SAYING: "We've certainly never built Infiniti's in Europe before. We have built an Infiniti in America once but this is the first time we've had a car which is suitable for Europe and one which we're going to produce in Europe so it's a big first. It's a big milestone for the plant." Nissan is investing 250 million pounds in this factory in Sunderland, in England's north. Britain's car industry is largely foreign-owned, but has proved resilient. The European car market has slumped to 20-year lows in the face of the euro zone crisis. Several makers have been forced to make deep cuts, with France's Peugeot-Citroen planning to axe 8,000 jobs. Opel wants to cut 3000 in Germany, while 1500 Fiat jobs could go in Poland. But with production in Britain, Nissan says it can compete in Europe.