Nissan: Electrified versions of popular Qashqai and Juke now rolling off the Sunderland production line thanks to £10 million battery assembly facility

The Japanese automotive giant unveiled its plans to expand its electric vehicle production at the Washington factory in 2020.

The expansion was part of a £500 million investment by the firm into the Wearside facility to build the current generations of its Qashqai and Juke ranges.

This has included a £10 million battery assembly facility, where batteries packs are made for both the e-POWER and hybrid powertrains, before being delivered to be fitted into vehicles.

Alan Johnson, Nissan’s Vice President for Manufacturing in the UK, said: “With more than five million customers, Qashqai and Juke are two of our plant’s most successful and popular models ever.

“Both e-POWER and hybrid technologies are firsts for the team in Sunderland, so it’s fantastic to see the electrified versions rolling off our two production lines.”

Qashqai is now being offered with Nissan’s e-POWER system for the first time in Europe, while its B-segment stablemate, the Nissan Juke, is now equipped with an advanced hybrid powertrain.

Combined production of the two popular models have now passed five million units in Sunderland.

Alongside the Nissan LEAF, which started production in 2011, it now means every vehicle built by Nissan in the UK now has an electrified version.

A greater focus on electric vehicles is part of a shift taking place at Nissan and the wider automotice industry.

Last year, plans were approved for a £450million Envision gigafactory making batteries for EVs near the Washington car plant, predicted to create 750 jobs and safeguarding 300 existing roles.

Over the summer, the firm promised an estimated 250 jobs would be safe as the end of a deal to build combustion engines for Renault was confirmed.

Mr Johnson added: “Our plant is built on the foundations of 36 years of manufacturing excellence from our world-class people and advanced facilities.

“Two million hours of training just for electrification shows we are taking that to the next level, as we lead the charge towards an electrified future.

“And of course we’ll continue to deliver brilliant, technologically advanced, cars to the high standards of quality that our customers have come to love.”