Nissan Motor said on Wednesday that no decision had yet been taken on moving some production of its hot-selling Qashqai/Dualis crossover from the UK to Japan.

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“We are always evaluating manufacturing locations for any products, however, nothing has been decided on Dualis [the export name used in Japan and Australia],” Nissan Motor said in a statement issued in Japan.


A spokeswoman for the automaker’s plant in Sunderland, north-east England, said nothing had been announced at the facility, which is currently the sole Qashqai/Dualis plant and working flat-out to meet strong demand for the new crossover launched earlier this year.


Sales began initially in the UK and Europe, followed by Japan, and the Qashqai is now being launched in Australia, too.


The Nikkei business daily had reported earlier that Nissan would shift just over 20,000 units a year of output to its Kyushu plant in southern Japan, which builds the X-Trail and Murano SUVs, among other cars.

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The paper said Sunderland had been working overtime and weekends to meet demand and was struggling to fill bigger-than-expected orders for the Dualis-badged version for Japan.


Nissan Motor corporate vice president Simon Sproule told the paper nothing had been decided, but added that manufacturing options were being evaluated all the time, especially given the yen’s unshifting weakness against the euro.


The Nikkei said Nissan’s domestic factories have been underutilised due to slack demand in Japan. There is a waiting list of up to six months for the Qashqai in Europe, where the model – a family-sized cross between a five-door hatchback and a small SUV offered with a wide variety of petrol and diesel engines and trim options – has replaced the Almera and Primera car lines and the five-seat Tino MPV (minivan).


The Japanese newspaper said Dualis orders in Japan had reached 11,000 units since its 23 May launch, far ahead of the 2,000-unit monthly sales target. In Europe, the model had sold 45,000 units by the end of June.