Nissan says it secured approval last night (4 September) to build a new, 25,000 sq m extension for Infinity production at its Sunderland plant in the UK’s north east region.
The new production area, designed to manufacture the first Infiniti built in Europe, will house specialist equipment in the body and final assembly areas of the production line.
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This extension forms part of the previously-announced GBP250m (US$390m) investment by Infiniti, which will create more than 1,000 new jobs in the UK automotive industry.
“The overall project is creating 280 new jobs at the plant,” a Nissan spokesman told just-auto. “Obviously in manufacturing, but also we are currently recruiting in engineering and maintenance to build [and] commission the facilities.
“We expect work to start within the next couple of months. It [approval] went through last night – it is the Sunderland Council Development Control Committee.”
Nissan says when production begins in 2015, Infiniti will become the first new car brand to be manufactured in the UK on such a scale in 23 years.
“The Q30 Concept signals the next step in our strategy to significantly extend into new premium segments – and the production car will fully deliver on the concept’s promise”, said said Infiniti Europe vice president, Fintan Knight.
“The compact segment is crucial for our future growth plans and the decision to invest and build the vehicle in the UK further underlines our long term commitment to Europe.”
