Nissan’s new ‘green’ Qashqai
The latest model to roll off the line at Sunderland’s Nissan plant will be a real lightweight.
The all-new Qashqai will be Nissan’s first model built in Europe using a significant number of lightweight aluminium panels.
The hood, doors and front fenders are stamped from aluminium alloy, which makes the Qashqai body 60kg lighter than the previous version, improving efficiency on emissions and helping accommodatemoretechnology, including Qashqai’s electrified powertrain.
A £52million investment in aluminium production at Nissan’s Sunderland plant includes the second extra-large press line that was launched last year and the cyclone – a recycling facility that blasts scrap metal out at 150km an hour and can handle more than seven tons of metal an hour, ensuring less waste and a greener production process.
As hoods and doors are stamped into shape, scrap material is shredded and extracted, keeping aluminium grades separate.
The separation ensures that Nissan can return highquality scrap to suppliers. The suppliers turn the separated aluminium scrap into aluminium alloy sheets and redeliver them to Nissan for use in production.
The “closed-loop” recycling system reclaims scrap aluminium, reducing waste and cutting carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to Nissan’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the company’s operations and the life cycle of its products by 2050.
Alan Johnson, Vice-President Manufacturing at Nissan Sunderland, said: “We continue to look for ways to make both our vehicles and our manufacturing process more sustainable and the use of lightweight aluminium in the new Qashqai is a great example.
“We continue to improve the efficiency and sustainability of our manufacturing operations and Sunderland will play a key role in meeting the company’s commitment to carbon neutrality.”
Recycling scrap aluminium saves more than 90% of the energy needed to create a comparable amount from raw materials.
As part of Nissan’s effort to achieve carbon neutrality, by the early 2030s every all-new Nissan vehicle offering in key markets will be electrified.