Nissan Juke Production Kicks Off

Production of the new Juke crossover has been launched today at Nissan’s Sunderland Plant in the UK, with the model to go on sale across Europe starting next month. Already believed to be a very successful model, the Juke has so far received more than 22,500 pre-orders across Europe since the order books opened in June.

Based on this, Sunderland expects to produce up to 100,000 units each year making it the plant’s second highest volume model behind the Qashqai.

“Juke provides a much needed breath of fresh air within the small car segment and will play a key role in defining the Nissan brand in the years ahead,” Trevor Mann, Nissan Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, Europe said in a release. “Customers in this sector now have the opportunity to own a highly individual and innovative car that will reinforce Nissan’s position as a pioneer of crossover vehicles.

Juke represents a GBP 57 million of investment in the Sunderland facility, securing 1,100 jobs directly at the plant and an estimated 2,000 additional posts across Nissan’s supply base. This was also made possible thanks to a GBP 6.2 million Grant for Business Investment from the UK Government.

It is expected Juke will contribute to a potential production volume of more than 400,000 units for the 2010 Financial Year which, if realised, would be a plant record.

“Congratulations to the Sunderland workforce for earning the right to produce what is their sixth new model in eight years. I would also like to thank both national and local government for their support, as well as the continued efforts of our all our suppliers,” concluded Mann.

Joining the Juke in Sunderland Plant’s current model line-up are the Note and Qashqai +2, while the Nissan LEAF electric car will enter production in early 2013.