Page 58 - PRAGMATIC STRATEGY

Other Nissan
plants
(manufacturing in
18 nations )
across the world
sought to build the
new car. However,
efficiency and
production levels
at Sunderland are
very high and the
plant had made
year-on- year
improvements for
several years and
is considered one
of Nissan's most
productive plants
globally.

Together, the two cars will create 3,000 UK jobs - 625 at the Sunderland operation
and the rest with suppliers. This will bring total employment at Nissan's Sunderland
plant to 6,225 producing over 500,000 cars per year. By then the Sunderland plant,
which since 1998 has been the UKs largest car producer, will be operating 24
hours a day with multiple shifts. In addition Nissan had, in line with its commitment
to develop and produce fuel-efficient cars with hybrid, hydrogen or electrical
engines, announced that it had also decided to invest some £420m to produce the
electric ‘Leaf’ at Sunderland for the European market, with production of 50,000
starting in early 3013 as well as to make 60,000 lithium-ion batteries for both
Renault and Nissan. To aid this production the UK Government will provide £20.7
million whilst up to £189 million will come from the European Investment Bank.

th
However, on 19 December 2012 Nissan announced a further investment of
£250m in Sunderland to make a small luxury car, the new ‘Infiniti’ model, creating
around 280 jobs at the factory and a further 700 with suppliers. Historically, the
Infiniti was made in Japan and targeted at the USA however, in recent years the
yen had been very strong, thus making it difficult to make money from cars
exported from Japan. In response, Nissan had decided to shift production to the
UK, the US or China the world’s largest automobile market.