Boris Johnson welcomes Nissan's commitment to Sunderland plant

The car giant’s global chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta has said the UK’s Brexit deal has given the Sunderland factory ‘a competitive advantage’ and secured the future of thousands of jobs across Europe,

He pledged the firm would ‘take this opportunity to redefine the auto industry in the United Kingdom’.

The Prime Minister welcomed the news on social media, Tweeting: “This is a great vote of confidence in the UK and fantastic news for the brilliant Nissan workforce in Sunderland and electric vehicle manufacturing in this country.”

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added: “Nissan’s decision represents a genuine belief in Britain and a huge vote of confidence in our economy thanks to the vital certainty that our trade deal with the EU has given the auto sector.

“For the dedicated and highly-skilled workforce in Sunderland, it means the city will be home to Nissan’s latest models for years to come and positions the company to capitalise on the wealth of benefits that will flow from electric vehicle production as part of our green industrial revolution.”

It is not yet clear if Nissan’s statement will lead to more models being built at the Sunderland plant, though Nissan boss Mr Gupta said yesterday: "We will definitely have the competitive advantage on electrified vehicles.”

He went on to say that the factory could return to three production lines post-pandemic if the new Qashqai was a success and the Juke continues to sell well.

Nissan began producing cars at its Wearside plant in 1986 and employs around 7,000 workers at the factory.

The company had previously warned that crashing out of the EU without a deal would render its European business plan unviable.

Unite national officer for automotive Steve Bush welcomed Nissan’s commitment and said: "Mr Gupta's backing for the Nissan plant in Sunderland is welcome and no less than this incredible, dedicated workforce deserves.

"This workforce and their community deserve a future and we will be working with Nissan to deliver this because bumpy times lie ahead.”

Despite the good news from Nissan, there are concerns that the local area is too reliant on the car giant.

Nissan says that across the UK the plant supports 27,000 UK automotive supply chain jobs, many of which are based on Wearside and across the North East.

Sunderland-born Centre for Cities economist Paul Swinney said more jobs in other sectors need to be created in Sunderland to safeguard the area’s economy.

He said: "The key for the city now is to compliment the important role that Nissan plays by attracting in jobs in other sectors to both increase job opportunities and the pay that these jobs offer.

"It's not the first time Nissan's future has been in doubt. When the next doubt arises (hopefully some time away), the city can't be as dependent on car making as it is today.”

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