Nissan to Invest in Future of Sunderland Plant

As someone that once worked for Nissan, we had many a long trip from the south to the north to visit the Nissan Sunderland factory.

The first time is quite something; it feels like you have entered a small country somewhere within England. 

It’s worth mentioning this wow-factor, as visualising it really doesn’t really emphasise just how much the local economy relies on this all-powering automotive employer – seeing images is fine and dandy of course, but actually stepping onto the land that Nissan owns – which is often just ‘land’ without a factory in sight – gives you an understanding of the sheer scale.

I remember jokingly thinking that we had stumbled into the north east’s Area 51.

EV36Zero Plan

So, it gives me great satisfaction to hear that Nissan will be constructing the new Qashqai as well as the new Juke and Leaf models in Sunderland going forward.

A £2 billion dedicated investment from Nissan and its partners via the EV36Zero plan has secured this ongoing run and stabilised many jobs at the plant.

Of course, the new Juke and Qashqai will also be fully electric models.

EV36Zero is a partnership between Nissan, Sunderland City Council and Envision AESC who provide battery technology.

New Qashqai, Leaf and Juke

These new vehicles will also get some radical new style, as Nissan speeds over the hill and far away from such dull utilitarian vehicles as the Almera.

Some hints as to what the new styling might look like happened recently at the Japan Mobility Show (formerly the Tokyo Motor Show).

Personally, in this case, I am pleased that Nissan has a solid reputation of shocking us with concepts to gain attention, but then dumbs them down a little once the production vehicles arrive – safe to say that I think the new Hyper Punk and Hyper Urban designs will need to be smoothed over somewhat to keep existing customers happy. Time will tell.

Hyper Punk and Hyper Urban

Hyper Punk has, as Nissan puts it, a unique origami-themed feel to the concept; all triangles and mimicked paper folds, while Hyper Urban has a slightly more aerodynamic and smoother look to it and is maybe more user-friendly on the eyes.

As far as the Leaf goes, there will be some big changes for the 2026 version. The Leaf was an early front runner in the electric car market – and inevitably at the time, quite expensive.

This time, the Leaf will be more of a crossover vehicle based loosely on the Nissan Chill-Out concept from a year or so ago. Whether Nissan really does now take on board its own recent ‘wake-up call’ to provide cheaper EVs will shortly be seen.

New Gigafactory

The Sunderland EV36Zero plan will include a brand-new AESC 11GWh battery factory which will join the existing 1.9GWh factory.

The gigafactory will be required to be a similar size to the existing one. Meanwhile, on-site solar and wind farms will provide the power giving Nissan the option to create 100% renewable electricity in Sunderland. The overall investment, according to Nissan, will be worth upwards of £2 billion. 

The Nissan Sunderland plant currently employs around 6,000 people. Along with the supplementary businesses which provide further stock for the plant, it has been suggested that Nissan’s north-eastern plant triggers salaries for around 30,000 locals.

The impressive site itself sits on 362,000 square metres, easily allowing for future development. 

Nissan Plant Tours

Full tours of the plant can be also booked, where you can enjoy the Dr Who-style mini robots busily shuffling parts from A to B and the impressive cleanliness that makes the plant a real eye-opener. I can heartily recommend the tours should you ever be in the area.