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Next Generation Nissan Qashqai to Come from the UK

Japanese automaker Nissan decided to put the UK in charge with the design, development and production of the next version of the Qashqai. The announcement was made today by Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn, at a meeting with UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

Naturally, the all-new Qashqai will go through several development stages. The first will see the new crossover tyled at Nissan’s European Design Centre in Paddington, London. Once the design is finalised, engineers from the Nissan Technical Centre Europe in Cranfield, Bedfordshire will take hold of the project. The completed car will be built in the company’s Sunderland manufacturing facility.

This decision will generate 6,000 jobs, both direct and indirect through the UK supply chain. The current Qashqai production line in Sunderland produces an average of 1,200 Qashqai units per day, each with no less than 3,779 parts, of which 83.6% come from one of 224 UK suppliers.

The new Qashqai represents a £192 million investment in Britain and is being funded entirely by Nissan. In addition, Nissan is also investing £420m in Sunderland plant for the production of the 100% electric Nissan LEAF from 2013 and in a new stand-alone facility to make lithium-ion batteries for both Renault and Nissan vehicles from 2012.

“The UK has been a cornerstone of Nissan manufacturing since 1986, with the Sunderland plant setting important benchmarks for quality and efficiency in Europe and around the world. It's the home of the Qashqai, one of Nissan's biggest product successes. And as Nissan's leadership in sustainable transportation grows, the plant will become one of the pillars of our zero-emission manufacturing," Ghosn said.
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