New capacity For Sunderland?
Nissan reportedly halts development of the electric Qashqai
According to a media report, Nissan has halted development of a fully electric Qashqai version. For the Sunderland plant, this increases the pressure to find new capacity utilisation options.
Nissan apparently stopped the development of a fully electric version of its European bestseller Qashqai as early as the beginning of last year. This is reported by the news agency Reuters citing six people familiar with the matter. This leaves a project on the brink that had still been announced in 2023 as an important building block for the expansion of the British site in Sunderland into an electric car hub.
According to Reuters, the Japanese manufacturer is thus responding to the increasing competitive pressure in the European electric car market. Chinese manufacturers in particular, as well as established competitors, are bringing inexpensive electric vehicles to the market, while demand development in Europe continues to remain volatile. Nissan itself did not comment specifically on an electric Qashqai. However, the company reaffirmed its commitment to a broader electrification strategy that includes both battery-electric vehicles and hybrid models.
Importance for production in Sunderland
For production, the decision is of considerable importance. The Sunderland plant, with around 6,000 employees, is the largest vehicle site in Great Britain and is regarded as a central building block of Nissan's European strategy.
The Qashqai is of outstanding importance for Nissan in Europe. According to Reuters analysis, around 45 per cent of European Nissan sales in 2025 were attributable to the model. So far, the Qashqai is offered as a petrol and hybrid model.
While the future of a fully electric Qashqai remains unclear, Nissan is sticking to other electrification projects in Sunderland. The Leaf is already being produced there. In addition, in April the company presented an electric Juke generation, which is also to be manufactured at the British site.
Plant seeks new utilisation opportunities
The discussion about the electric Qashqai comes at a phase of extensive restructuring at Nissan. Worldwide, the manufacturer is working on cost reductions, a streamlining of the model portfolio and better utilisation of its production capacities.
Against this background, Sunderland is gaining additional strategic importance. Nissan is examining new manufacturing models there in order to use free capacity. Thus Nissan and the Chinese manufacturer Chery have signed a non-binding declaration of intent on possible contract manufacturing at the Sunderland plant. Under review is production of vehicles for the British market on the so-called “Line One” from the 2027 financial year. The plant and the workforce would remain entirely under Nissan control; what would be planned is classic contract manufacturing.
The talks are connected with a planned reorganisation of the site. Nissan had announced that in future it would concentrate its own vehicle production more strongly on the second production line and thereby create scope for alternative usage concepts.
Political support remains an issue
At the same time, according to Reuters, Nissan is negotiating with the British government about the future direction of the site. As early as last week, Reuters had reported that talks are under way about financial support for an updated future plan for Sunderland. According to this, possible state funding could be tied to commitments for new models, additional vehicle derivatives and the safeguarding of jobs.
The current development fits with the long-term realignment of the Japanese manufacturer. Nissan is planning a reduction of its global model portfolio from 56 to 45 vehicles and is placing greater emphasis on shared vehicle architectures, higher volumes per model and a flexibly usable production structure. At the same time, the range of electrified powertrains is to be expanded, with in particular hybrid technologies taking on an important role in the transition phase.
This article was first published in our sister magazine, automobil-produktion.de.
