Two groundbreaking crossover models are now being produced at Nissan Sunderland Plant in electrified versions. The original crossover, the Nissan Qashqai, is now available with Nissan’s distinctive e-POWER technology, marking a first for the brand in Europe. The Nissan Juke, its B-segment stablemate, now has a cutting-edge hybrid powertrain.
As combined manufacturing of the two classic crossover models in Sunderland has surpassed five million units, these new powertrains have been introduced. These technologies, which were developed concurrently with the Nissan LEAF, allow Nissan to produce an electrified version of every vehicle in the UK.
Nissan’s Vice President for Manufacturing in the UK, Alan Johnson, stated: “The Qashqai and Juke are two of the most successful and well-liked cars ever produced at our facility, with more than five million customers. The Sunderland team is pioneering both e-POWER and hybrid technologies, so it’s wonderful to see the electrified versions coming off our two production lines.
The two electric versions are a part of Nissan’s previously planned £500 million investment in the factory that makes the existing Qashqai and Juke models. A £10 million state-of-the-art battery assembly facility, one of the new facilities, is where battery packs for both the e-POWER and hybrid powertrains are built before being supplied to be installed in cars.
A significant amount of training is necessary to create a staff that is equipped to provide the cars of the future. More than two million hours of training on the production of electric vehicles have been completed by Nissan Sunderland Plant employees since LEAF began shipping in 2011. Additional training is scheduled for the upcoming months and years.
“Our plant is built on the pillars of 36 years of manufacturing excellence from our world-class people and cutting-edge facilities,” Alan Johnson continued.
We are leading the push toward an electric future, as seen by the two million hours of training we have invested in only electrification.
Of course, we’ll keep providing our customers with stunning, technologically advanced cars that meet the high standards of quality they’ve come to expect.
The launches follow Nissan’s announcement that EV36Zero, a £1 billion flagship electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy, and battery manufacture, will be housed at the Sunderland Plant.
Nissan created, engineered, and produced the Qashqai and Juke in its facilities in the UK. This supported more than 7,000 employment in Paddington, Maple Cross, Cranfield, Lutterworth, and Sunderland, as well as another 30,000 jobs in the larger UK supply chain and roughly 5,000 jobs in UK dealerships.
