Nissan begins UK production of Juke Hybrid and Qashqai E-Power

Nissan has electrified its UK-built models with the start of Juke Hybrid and Qashqai E-Power production in Sunderland.

The new models join the existing UK-built Leaf and mean that every model built by Nissan in the UK is now offered as an electrified version.

Alan Johnson, Nissan’s vice president for manufacturing in the UK, said: “With more than five million customers, Qashqai and Juke are two of our plant’s most successful and popular models ever.

“Both e-POWER and hybrid technologies are firsts for the team in Sunderland, so it’s fantastic to see the electrified versions rolling off our two production lines.”

The Qashqai E-Power uses an all-new powertrain that uses an electric motor to exclusively drive the wheels and a petrol engine that’s used to charge a small battery.

The Juke Hybrid uses a more conventional hybrid system, to bolster the popular model’s line-up.

The two electrified models are part of a previously announced £500m investment by Nissan into the plant to build the current generations of Qashqai and Juke.

New facilities installed include a £10m state-of-the-art Battery Assembly facility, where batteries packs are made for both the E-Power and Hybrid powertrains, before being delivered to be fitted into vehicles.

Johnson added: “Our plant is built on the foundations of 36 years of manufacturing excellence from our world-class people and advanced facilities.

“Two million hours of training just for electrification shows we are taking that to the next level, as we lead the charge towards an electrified future.”

The launches come after Nissan announced Sunderland Plant as the home of EV36Zero, a £1bn flagship electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production.

Nissan recently announced a restructure of its network which will reduce its UK franchised retail network from around 166 to 140 sites.