Thousands of North East jobs protected as Nissan and Port of Tyne sign new five-year deal to import and export cars

The Port of Tyne has extended its commercial partnership with Nissan to handle the import and export of the car giant’s new vehicles for a further five years.

Nissan employs around 6,000 people at its Sunderland plant, while the port has more than 450 employees on its payroll.

The Port of Tyne handles 600,000 vehicles per year for Nissan, making it the country’s second largest car handling port.

Nissan has been building cars in Sunderland since 1986 and the Port of Tyne started transporting Wearside-built models to more than 130 worldwide markets eight years later.

The agreement marks the dawn of a new era for the ongoing partnership as the move to net zero transportation accelerates and comes on the heels of Nissan’s EV36Zero announcement last year.

The project will be a major part of Nissan’s drive to carbon neutrality and zero-emission motoring.

The scheme is comprised of three interconnected initiatives – building more electric vehicles, making more use of renewable energy and the creation of a new battery production plant at Sunderland with Nissan’s battery partner Envision AESC.

This development is closely aligned with the Port of Tyne’s aim to be net zero by 2030 and all-electric by 2040.

The port was recently awarded the Seatrade Maritime 2021 Sustainable Supply Chain Management of the Year Award and two Maritime UK 2020 Clean Energy Awards, for Clean Energy Operator and Clean Energy Enabler.

“The Port of Tyne has been an integral part of our supply chain for many years,” said Michael Simpson, Nissan’s Vice President of Supply Chain Management.

"As it continues to grow as a clean energy and green distribution hub it will continue to play a vital role in Nissan’s vision for a carbon neutral future.”

Port of Tyne CEO Matt Beaton was delighted with the new deal: “We are incredibly proud to be supporting one of the UK’s biggest car manufacturer and having the opportunity to make a major contribution to the adoption of electric vehicles globally,” he said.

“This agreement demonstrates Nissan’s long term commitment to the port and its importance to the wider region.”