Nearly 18 years ago, the first Nissan Qashqai rolled off the production line in Sunderland. Fast forward to 2024, and with more than four million customers in more than 100 countries, the fastest-selling car ever in the UK car industry has been upgraded once more – with new design and significant technology updates.
The new Qashqai, electrified with Nissan’s e-POWER system, is now in production at its home in Sunderland ahead of its arrival in the coming weeks to Nissan dealers across Europe and beyond. The latest upgrades required a fresh £30m investment in the plant, building on Nissan’s total investment in the UK of £6bn.
Nissan has started production of the new Qashqai at its factory in Sunderland / Picture: Nissan GB
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Designed, engineered and built in Britain, the first Qashqai was produced in Sunderland towards the end of 2006, ahead of its launch in 2007. Its instant popularity saw production in Sunderland reach record levels, with the plant recording the highest annual volumes in the history of the UK car industry, and Qashqai becoming the fastest UK-built car to achieve 1 million, 2 million, 3 million and then 4 million production units, spawning more than 20 competitors in the process.
Adam Pennick, Nissan’s vice president for manufacturing in the UK, said: “We’re so proud to call Sunderland plant the home of the Qashqai. Having the number one team behind the number one crossover is a winning formula, and we can’t wait to see how much our customers enjoy the new design and extra tech.”
Sunderland plant is also home to the Nissan Juke and all-electric Nissan Leaf, where production supports 7,000 jobs in Nissan’s UK teams / Picture: Nissan GB
Since the third-generation Qashqai was launched in 2021, it has sold more than 350,000 units in Europe. In 2022, Qashqai became available with e-POWER – Nissan’s unique electrified powertrain where the wheels are only ever driven directly by the electric motor – creating an EV-drive sensation. More than 120,000 Sunderland-built Qashqai’s with e-POWER are now on the roads.
The Sunderland plant is also home to the Nissan Juke and all-electric Nissan Leaf, where production supports 7,000 jobs in Nissan’s UK teams. That includes Nissan’s Design Centre in Paddington, London; the Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire; the manufacturing team in Sunderland; parts centre in Lutterworth; and sales and marketing team in Rickmansworth, as well as a further 30,000 jobs in the UK supply chain.
With more than four million customers in more than 100 countries, the fastest-selling car ever in the UK car industry has been upgraded once more / Picture: Nissan GB
To enable production of the 2024 Qashqai, changes have been made across the Sunderland plant, with investment in facilities for new panels, bumpers, paint colours, interior features, materials and trim. The Qashqai’s new upgraded technology is now also integrated into the production process – including updated advanced driver assistance systems and the addition of Google built-in as part of the NissanConnect infotainment system, which makes a near-seamless interaction between a customer’s digital life and their vehicle.
The refreshed Qashqai arrives as Nissan continues to develop its EV36Zero vision in Sunderland, a blueprint for the future of automotive manufacturing, bringing together electric vehicle manufacturing and battery production, powered by renewables. The EV36Zero model will become a blueprint for the future for plants across Nissan’s global manufacturing footprint as part of The Arc, Nissan’s new global business plan.
The latest upgrades required a fresh £30m investment in the plant, building on Nissan’s total investment in the UK of £6bn / Picture: Nissan GB
Pennick added: “These are exciting times for Nissan in Sunderland. We are proud to be delivering new versions of both Qashqai and Juke to our customers while also preparing our plant to go all electric, as part of our ground-breaking EV36Zero project.”
The EV36Zero project also puts Sunderland plant at the heart of Nissan’s drive to a sustainable future. Already confirmed for production in Sunderland are future all-electric versions of Qashqai, Juke and Leaf, part of plans for Nissan’s passenger car line-up in Europe to be 100% electric by 2030. It also builds on Nissan’s Ambition 2030 vision to become a truly sustainable company, driving towards a cleaner, safer, and more inclusive world.
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