New Nissan Qashqai production STARTS as Nissan aims to inspire local schoolchildren

New Nissan Qashqai

The new Nissan Qashqai production starts in Sunderland, and Nissan celebrates with a Skills Foundation Course for all local schoolchildren.

You probably don’t think of the Nissan Qashqai as a ‘British’ car, but it is.

Since it launched in 2007, the Qashqai has accounted for one in five of all cars built in the UK, in the process becoming the fastest UK car to reach one million, two million, and three million units built, and now accounts for more than 3.5 million units – a third of Sunderland’s total lifetime production.

Nissan has invested £400 million in Sunderland to build the new Qashqai and now, as production gets underway, they’re celebrating by giving back to the local community.

Nissan is offering every schoolchild in the North East the chance to take part in a Nissan Skills Foundation event, a programme of activities designed to get children excited about a career in manufacturing and engineering.

Alan Johnson, Nissan VP Manufacturing UK, said:

We know it has been a tough year for young people, so we’re using the launch of this next-generation car to step up our efforts to inspire the next generation of manufacturing talent. We want every child in the North East of England to have the opportunity to be inspired by the Nissan Skills Foundation.

The new Nissan Qashqai was revealed in February, went on sale with the new Qashqai First Edition in March, with the full new Qashqai range – starting at £23,433 – on sale in April.