Nissan has announced that it will continue to support its Sunderland manufacturing facility, despite saying it will reduce its global model count by 20% over the next three years.
The biggest loss is in Spain, where Nissan will close its Barcelona factory in December with around 2800 jobs lost. Hundreds of Spanish workers have gathered outside the plant and are burning tyres in protest.
The decision is the result of Nissan posting its first yearly operating loss for more than a decade, announcing that it lost £5.1bn during the 2019 financial year. That’s largely owing to a 10% decrease in sales globally, with the maker shifting 4.9m cars compared to 5.5m the year prior.
Despite the economic tumult in the UK, owing to both the COVID-19 crisis and the Brexit transition, Nissan has pledged that it will make the Sunderland plant a key hub for an alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi; it’s widely reported that the North East facility will soon begin to produce the Renault Captur and Kajdar crossover models. This makes sense given that they share parts and platforms with Nissan models that are both produced in Sunderland – namely the Juke and the Qashqai.
Last year the Sunderland plant’s position seemed perilous, with Nissan openly stating that the UK’s decision to leave the EU was damaging and adding to North East woe by deciding against producing the new X-Trail there, instead building it in Japan – including cars destined for Europe.
The skies over Sunderland have brightened considerably since then though, with Nissan investing a further £52m into the plant in March to assist Qashqai and Juke production, bringing its total recent investment up to £400m.
Only this week Nissan reaffirmed its commitment to the alliance with Mitsubishi and Renault, stating that it had rubber stamped a business plan that would see it share even more across its brands – platforms, technology, engines and production. This will assist in cutting costs, which will not only keep car prices down (in theory) but will help Nissan stem the losses of 2019.
Going forward Nissan will focus on electric vehicles and more profitable crossovers, meaning that small cars like the Note and Micra are unlikely to be replaced – possibly discontinued early, even. This will form part of the plan to cull 20% of its model output over the next three years, with Nissan President Makoto Uchida candidly admitting recently that “we suffer from an ageing portfolio”.
Keyword: Relief for Nissan's Sunderland workers as Barcelona burns