Nissan will invest £170m ($229.1m) to build the B-segment Kicks crossover at its Sunderland plant in the UK, adding another e-POWER hybrid model to its European line-up.
Production of the Kicks will sit alongside the Qashqai, Juke and Leaf at Sunderland, making it the tenth model to roll off the line since 1986.
The investment forms part of Nissan's EV36Zero programme, which is working to turn Sunderland into an EV hub combining vehicle assembly, renewable power generation and battery manufacturing.
This marks the first time the Kicks will be built for the European market, with cars from Sunderland supplying customers across the UK, Europe and Turkey.
The announcement lands as the plant marks 40 years of operation, having produced 12 million vehicles since its first Bluebird model came off the line in 1986.
UK Government Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds said: “The decision to build this new model in Sunderland is a huge vote of confidence in the UK's manufacturing expertise and automotive future.”
The UK's SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes also welcomed the announcement from Nissan, saying it is a major boost for Nissan Sunderland and a "vote of confidence in UK automotive manufacturing".
Hawes added: “The UK sector has the fundamental strengths to secure growth. But to unlock that potential, we must continue to strengthen our competitiveness – supporting a healthy market, tackling the high cost of business, especially energy and additional employment costs – and ensuring trade works for manufacturers. Do this and yet more companies will choose to build the next generation of vehicles here in Britain.”
Currently, the second-generation Kicks is manufactured in Japan, Mexico and Brazil to serve global markets, where sales have topped 1.8 million units across more than 70 countries.
Cars built at Sunderland will run on Nissan's third-generation e-POWER hybrid system, launched in 2025.
Under this system, propulsion comes solely from an electric motor, with a petrol engine used only to generate electricity for the battery rather than to power the wheels directly.
Sunderland already builds e-POWER hybrid versions of the Qashqai, and since the technology's 2016 launch, Nissan has sold over 1.9 million e-POWER vehicles globally, of which 200,000 were UK-built Qashqai models.
Nissan AMIEO region chairperson Massimiliano Messina added: “Electrification with choice is what European customers want, and the introduction of Kicks will further demonstrate how Nissan has options for all.”
The development follows an announcement earlier this month about a new A-segment electric car for Europe, the PIXO, which is scheduled to be revealed next week.
Over four decades, Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK has received £5bn in investment and supplies vehicles to more than 100 markets.
The Sunderland facility currently provides direct employment for approximately 6,000 people, with a further 30,000 jobs supported through its supply chain.
From next year, the site is also set to start production of the third-generation Nissan Juke, which will be fully electric for the first time.
Across the UK, Nissan employs around 7,000 people, including staff at its design centre in Paddington, London, and its R&D centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire.
