Nissan’s Sunderland plant has officially started production of its new Note mini-MPV today.
The first vehicles to roll off the line will be marked at a ceremony attended by Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Michael Fallon.
Coming off the back of a £125 million investment by Nissan, with a £9.3m grant from government’s Regional Growth Fund, the new production line is a further boost for automotive manufacturing in the UK.
Aside from the assembly of the car, much of the new Note’s development has taken place at the Nissan Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire. Nissan claims to have created 2,000 UK jobs with the new model, bringing the total number of posts supported by the firm in Britain to 35,000.
Mr. Fallon said, “The investment by Nissan to make the Note at the world class Sunderland plant has been achieved by government and industry working together. It provides a very welcome boost to its exceptional workforce, the North East economy and the country.
“Working in partnership with industry, our automotive industrial strategy sets out how we will secure the long-term future of the sector as a UK success story by growing our share of the value chain and by getting ahead of the game in research and development for the vehicles of tomorrow.”
