Nissan’s vote of confidence in UK

Sunderland plant to be car maker’s European hub

NISSAN has delivered a huge vote of confidence in Britain’s car industry after it vowed to keep production at its factory in Sunderland.

the Japanese car maker will turn the plant into its european hub in a move that workers hope will preserve thousands of jobs in the north east.

the company made the commitment to Sunderland as it revealed plans to shut down a factory in Barcelona, leading to the loss of 2,800 jobs, and another in Indonesia.

the firm is desperately trying to restructure its business and save £2.3bn a year after it swung to its first loss since the financial crisis.

Hundreds of workers in Spain gathered outside the Barcelona factory to protest the closure, burning tyres in the street and shouting ‘war’.

the decision to back Sunderland, which is the uK’s biggest car plant, is a major victory after years of doubt over its future.

Car makers including Nissan were at the centre of a political row between Leave and remain voters in the run-up to the 2016 eu referendum.

remain campaigners insisted voting to leave would kill off the car industry and the plant in Sunderland, where locals voted by 61.3pc to leave the eu.

And after the referendum, car makers repeatedly expressed worries that a No deal Brexit could irreparably disrupt supply chains and that tariffs could make it untenable for them to stay in Britain.

But yesterday Nissan said Sunderland remains ‘an important part’ of the company’s plans in europe. Former Welsh Conservative

leader Andrew rt davies said: ‘Arch-remainers used to mock the Leave-voting people of the north east but looks like they were wrong again.’

ukip founder Nigel Farage said: ‘For over 20 years we were told if we join the euro and then left the eu that Nissan would close. Here is the happy reality.’

the unite union is seeking assurances that none of the 6,000 workers at the Sunderland site will lose their jobs.

Nissan said it would seek to ‘improve efficiency’ at the factory in the north-east of england’s manufacturing hub.

the plant, which churned out 346,871 new cars in 2019, currently makes the Juke and qashqai SuVs and the Leaf electric model.

It is estimated to support up to 30,000 jobs in the wider supply chain. Nissan could even boost production at the site under a new arrangement with renault, one of its partners in a global alliance, that could see the French car maker produce some of its vehicles there.

the alliance with fellow car makers renault and Mitsubishi was thought to be under threat after former boss Carlos Ghosn was ousted in 2018.

He had forged the collaboration, which was said to be rife with tensions, before he was sacked and arrested over financial misconduct allegations.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and traders, said: ‘the fact that Nissan’s Sunderland plant has not been chosen to close as part of the company’s rationalisation plans is a huge relief. ‘However, the issue underlines the significant challenges facing the global industry, and the intense pressure on all factories to deliver greater efficiency, productivity and profitability.

‘to safeguard uK automotive manufacturing and thousands of jobs dependent on it, we must maintain our global competitiveness now and in the future.’

Nissan is plotting a major shake-up after it swung to a £5.1bn loss – its first time in the red in 11 years – in the 12 months to March 31.

the firm was already battling a slump in sales before the coronavirus crisis broke out.

under a new four-year plan, the Japanese manufacturer will slash its production capacity and model range by about a fifth.