Ten millionth vehicle built at Nissan Sunderland Plant

2019/06/20

• Nissan Sunderland Plant becomes the fastest UK site to reach the milestone
• On average the plant has built a car every two minutes since production started
• Parked bumper to bumper, the 10m cars would stretch around the globe

SUNDERLAND, UK (20 June, 2019) – Nissan Sunderland Plant is celebrating another record breaking milestone as the ten millionth vehicle rolls of the production line.

It has taken the plant 33 years to reach the ten million mark – making it the fastest car factory in the UK to the landmark figure. It also means that, on average, a new car has been built in Sunderland every two minutes since production started in 1986.

And if all ten million cars were parked nose to tail they would stretch for more than 42,000km – which is enough to go all the way around the equator of the world, with a few to spare.

Steve Marsh, Nissan Sunderland Plant Vice President, Manufacturing, said: “Building ten million vehicles is a tremendous achievement for everyone associated with the plant.

“Reaching this huge figure has called on all the ingenuity, commitment and spirit of our highly skilled workforce, many of who hail from the North East of England.

“Together we are determined to continue to drive up the high quality standards our customers have come to expect over the last three decades.”

The ten millionth car was a Vivid Blue Nissan Qashqai Tekna, complete with ProPILOT technology, which controls the steering, acceleration and braking in a single lane on highways during heavy traffic congestion and high-speed cruising. The pioneering crossover is also the most produced model at the plant, contributing more than 3.4 million to the overall figure. Micra is the second most produced car, with close to 2.4 million being built in Sunderland.

Qashqai is one of nine main models to be built at the plant since the first Bluebird was built in 1986 and it is one of three currently made at the plant, alongside the all-electric LEAF and Juke. Last year production of Juke passed one million, with Primera the only other model to hit seven figures at just under 1.5 million.

Nissan Sunderland Plant was built on the site of a former airfield, with a ground breaking ceremony taking place in July 1984. The first Bluebird rolled off the line two years later in 1986, and production for the first year was 5,139. The total workforce at that time was 470, compared to about 7,000 today.

TOTAL PRODUCTION BY VEHICLE (sorted by volume at end of May 2019)

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Notes to editors

ABOUT NISSAN IN THE UK

• Nissan Sunderland Plant produces the Nissan Qashqai, Juke, Infiniti Q30 and the 100% electric Nissan LEAF
• Production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles began in 2012
• Total plant volume since 1986 stands at more than 9 million units with 80 per cent of production exported to over 100 markets worldwide
• Total investment made and announced since then is over £4.0 billion
• 495,645 units were produced at Sunderland plant in 2017
• Employment in Nissan’s UK design studio (Paddington, London), technical centre (Cranfield Bedfordshire), manufacturing plant (Sunderland, Tyne and Wear) and sales and marketing operations (Maple Cross, Hertfordshire) now totals more than 8,000.
• A further 28,000 jobs in Nissan’s UK supply chain and 4,000 in its UK dealer network takes the total British jobs supported by Nissan to more than 40,000

ABOUT NISSAN IN EUROPE
Nissan has one of the most comprehensive European presences of any overseas manufacturer, employing more than 17,000 staff across locally-based design, research & development, manufacturing, logistics and sales & marketing operations. Last year Nissan plants in the UK, Spain and Russia produced more than 640,000 vehicles including award-winning crossovers, commercial vehicles and the Nissan LEAF, the world’s most popular electric vehicle. Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility vision is designed to guide Nissan’s product and technology pipeline and this 360 degree approach to the future of mobility will anchor critical company decisions around how cars are powered, how cars are driven, and how cars integrate into society. Nissan is positioned to become the most desirable Asian brand in Europe. http://www.newsroom.nissan-europe.com

About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, INFINITI and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2018, the company sold 5.52 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 11.6 trillion yen. Nissan’s global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, manages operations in six regions: Asia & Oceania; Africa, the Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America; and North America. Nissan has partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and acquired a 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motors in 2016. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance sold 10.76 million vehicles combined in calendar year 2018.

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