Nissan invests £100m in Sunderland plant to produce Juke model

Nissan gave a boost to the manufacturing industry by announcing a £100m ($152m) investment in its Sunderland plant to build the Juke model. The Japanese car giant was forced to battle regulators because of feared breaches of competition rules with other carmakers from Japan, but came out victorious.

The plant in Sunderland will see 6,700 jobs secured because of the investment, while another estimated 27,000 jobs will be created in the supply chain.

Nissan's Europe chairman Paul Willcox, said he was delighted about the news. He said: "This announcement gives security to our Sunderland plant beyond 2020, which the team has earned through many years of hard work and their ability to continually raise the bar on quality."

The Juke, a relatively small five-door SUV starting at £12,000 was launched in 2010. Willcox underlined the importance of the model, saying: "The Juke's unique design is one of the reasons Nissan is now the undisputed crossover leader, underpinning five consecutive years of sales growth in Europe."

The Sunderland plant will add the Juke production to its current programme which includes Nissan's Note and Qashqai models as well as the Leaf series, the company's electric car. In 2015, the Infiniti Q30 will also be produced in Sunderland.

Some 80% of the cars from the plant are sent out for export, weighing in on Britain's trade balance. Nissan's business in the UK is vital for the country's economy. Its Sunderland factory produces 500,000 cars annually and 9,000 workers are employed by the company.

Chancellor George Osborne mentioned the importance of the Sunderland plant and the addition of the Juke model. He commented: "Our ambitious plan to build the Northern Powerhouse means building on the area's strengths – including manufacturing – and this announcement is an important sign of Britain being chosen as a global leader in car production."