Nissan has announced that it has allocated production of a new passenger car to its manufacturing plant in Barcelona. Production will begin in July 2014. Barcelona won the bid shortly after reaching a new competitive proposal with the local works council.
The new passenger car brings an additional 80,000 units of annual capacity to Barcelona, through an investment of EUR110m, and the creation of 1,000 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The move also diversifies the Barcelona plant’s production, which previously had been heavily dependent on light-commercial vehicles and 4x4s – vehicles that have been impacted by the economic crisis, Nissan says.
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Additionally, Nissan says it is allocating to Barcelona the production of 24,000 units of additional annual capacity for the 1-Ton Pickup, an investment of EUR14m and the assembly of the gearbox for the Nissan Leaf and Nissan eNV200, an investment of EUR6m.
These investments, totalling more than EUR130m in the coming years, will be used to renovate production lines for the new passenger car, for the introduction of new technology needed to support electric-vehicle production, and for adapting the supplier park to new production requirements. This, Nissan says, adds to more than EUR200m of previously announced investment for the production of a new truck in Nissan’s Avila plant and the manufacture in Barcelona of the e-NV200, the second all-electric vehicle to be added to Nissan’s line-up.
Nissan says that Barcelona operations are positioned to become among the most competitive and versatile, with the ability to produce passenger cars, 4x4s, LCVs and electric vehicles – a wide range of models designed to meet customer expectations.
Nissan Motor Ibérica Managing Director, Frank Torres said: “I have the pleasure of sharing with you the fruits of the competitiveness agreement reached last week, which have opened the door to new production opportunities. The most important thing now is to be able to ensure the successful launch of these products and keep the competitiveness commitment. If we do, I am sure new opportunities will come.”
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By GlobalDataHe added: “In the coming years, Barcelona plant will work at full capacity, with an annual output over 200,000 units while maintaining its attractiveness to produce new models. Given the current crisis environment, this is not only a great achievement for Nissan, but for the entire industry in this country.”
