Nissan is today marking the start of production of the new Juke at its Sunderland plant, following a £100 million investment.
Designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK, the new Juke has been developed specifically for European markets, with Sunderland the only production location for this second-generation compact crossover.
Its launch comes almost 10 years after the original Juke’s daring styling broke the mould in the B-segment, and Nissan has raised the bar again, bringing new levels of technology and connectivity to the compact crossover category.
Developed by Nissan’s European design and R&D teams in Paddington, London, and Cranfield, Bedfordshire, 70% of Juke production will be for the EU markets, with two thirds of its suppliers based in the EU.
Visiting Sunderland plant today to oversee the final stages of preparation for the launch, Nissan Europe Chairman, Gianluca de Ficchy, said: “The new Juke represents a further £100m investment in our Sunderland plant and is designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK for European customers.
“Thirty-five years ago Nissan decided to create a plant in the UK to serve our European markets. Ten million vehicles later, Sunderland is the biggest UK car plant in history and the all-new Juke is the most connected Nissan car. With more than 35,000 jobs supported by Nissan in the UK, I would like to thank our experienced and skilled teams in Paddington, Cranfield and Sunderland, and our wider supply base, for their efforts in bringing this all-new model to life.”
In addition to more than 5,000 hours of training which has been delivered to the plant’s highly skilled and experienced team to support the launch, the factory has required new investment upgrades to deliver the new Juke’s suite of advanced technology and high levels of interior and exterior personalisation.
This includes more than 27 new die sets, which cut and mold the car’s ultra-high-tensile steel, which have been installed in the Press Shop to form the Juke’s athletic new design, delivering a striking yet roomier dynamic crossover body that does not compromise on performance.
Four new spray booths have been built in the Paint Shop to accommodate the choice of 15 different two-tone body colour combinations that customers can now choose from.
Juke is powered by an efficient 1.0-litre three-cylinder DIG-T turbocharged petrol engine which is manufactured in Sunderland. With 117 PS, it gives drivers improved performance, fuel economy and refinement.
Steve Marsh, Nissan Vice President for Manufacturing in the UK, said: “We are thrilled to see the Juke in production. Our million Juke fans across Europe will be able to see it on the roads very soon. Juke is a big part of our plant’s heritage, so it is a proud moment to see the new model rolling off the line.
“Our design and engineering teams have done a fantastic job and our skilled manufacturing team will now deliver the car to the high quality levels that our customers have come to expect.”
To support the production of new Juke, extra manufacturing staff will be needed on the plant’s production Line Two. In a restructuring of the production schedule, these staff will transfer from production Line One, with both lines operating on a two shift pattern. Overall headcount at the plant will remain the same.
Connected services and over-the-air updates make the new Juke the most connected Nissan ever. The new car comes with In-car NissanConnect, an 8–inch touch screen monitor, in-car WiFi hotspot and voice recognition. Nissan’s ProPILOT technology, offers electronically assisted steering, acceleration and braking. Designed for highway use in single-lane traffic, ProPilot will be available on the JUKE for the first time.
Sales start from the end of November in European markets.