PM cheers UK cars boost
NISSAN is to make a £192m investment to build the new version of the Nissan Qashqai car in the UK.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who invited Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn to Downing Street to announce the decision, is keen to present the company’s decision as a coup for UK car manufacturing. Nearly a million Nissan Qashqai cars have been produced since its release, with most of the parts coming from UK suppliers.
Designing and building the new version is expected to preserve 6,000 British jobs. The firm also has plans to invest £420m in its Sunderland factory to produce the Nissan LEAF, an electric car, from 2013 onwards.
Ghosn said: “The UK has been a cornerstone of Nissan manufacturing since 1986… It’s the home of the Qashqai, one of Nissan’s biggest product successes.” Nissan employs 12,500 across Europe and last year produced 528,000 cars at factories in the region.