Six Millionth Car Rolls Off the Nissan UK Production Line

Now in its 25th year of production, Nissan’s Sunderland Plant has just passed the six million cars manufacturing milestone. The landmark car was a Force Red Nissan Juke, which passed its last checks on January 18th. The UK plant is also celebrating a record year of production, consolidating its status as the UK’s biggest car producer.

“2010 was a landmark year for the plant and represents a superb achievement by our workforce. This performance also reflects the popularity of the models we are producing in Sunderland, especially the Nissan Qashqai and the new Nissan Juke, which have both been designed, engineered and built in the UK,” stated Nissan’s Vice President for Manufacturing in the UK, Kevin Fitzpatrick.

A record total of 423,262 cars were manufactured in Sunderland last year, 81 percent of which were exported. According to figures recently released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), one in every three passenger cars produced last year in the UK were manufactured there.

The previous production record for the Nissan Sunderland Plant stood at 386,555 units in 2008, so demand has not only recovered to but also surpassed pre-crisis levels. This was driven by the success of models like the Qashqai and the Juke. A third shift was added to the Qashqai line in May 2010, boosting annual production to 271,188, up from 224,989 in 2008. The Sunderland Plant also made 54,580 Nissan Micras last year, before production moved to India in July.

“By focusing on cost competitiveness, quality and being responsive to fluctuating customer demand, we have experienced significant growth in our operation where others have declined. This winning formula will be the key to securing future new products and continued growth,” Fitzpatrick commented.