Nissan on Tyneside

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CASE STUDY: NISSAN IN SUNDERLAND

Case study of the factors affecting the development and location of one hightech industry.

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Case study: Nissan in Sunderland

In February 1984, Nissan and the Government signed an agreement to build a car plant in the UK.

The following month, a 799-acre (3.23 km2) brownfield site on an old airfield in Sunderland was chosen.

As an incentive, the land was offered to Nissan at agricultural prices; around £1,800 per acre.

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Why was the government being so helpful? The North East region of England had recently undergone a period of industrial decline, with the closure of most of the shipyards on the Tyne and Wear, and the closure of many coal mines on the once prosperous Durham coalfield


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Courtesy of IHiGCSE

What were the advantages to Nissan? The high = large, eager, manufacturing-skilled workforce to draw upon. Site = close to large ports on the Tyne and Tees, within easy driving distance of the

international Newcastle Airport, and close to major trunk roads such as the A1 and A19

So what happened? Company became known as Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, or NMUK July 1986, phase 1 first car rolled off the production line. February 1987, NMUK became the sole supplier of Bluebirds to the UK market. It continued to produce a greater variety of models but was under severe competition

from the new EU countries and other MICs where the costs were lower. By 2003 the plant as one of the most productive of all plants, therefore saving it from

closure. By 2007, NMUK would be producing over 400,000 vehicle per year, up from the 2003

figure of 330,000


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Recent developments January 2009,

Nissan announced it was to shed 1200 jobs from the factory due to the automotive industry crisis of 2008. later that year, 150 workers were taken back on, due to increased production resulting from the scrappage schemes

implemented across Europe

July 2009 Nissan has announced plans to build a plant for the production of its advanced lithium-ion batteries in Europe

As part of the newly established Low Carbon Economic Area, Government intends to establish a new training centre, specialising in low carbon automotive technologies; a technology park and an open access test track for low carbon vehicles.

Research @ Centre for Advanced Electrical Drives at Newcastle University and Sunderland University’s Institute for Automotive and Manufacturing Advanced Practise (AMAP)

December 2009 Regional Development Agency One North East and car manufacturer Nissan Motor Co = partnership to develop

zero emission mobility in North East England. Under the agreement, One North East will install at least 619 publicly available, ‘future-proof’ charging points by

January 1, 2011, which will support both 3kW and 7kW charges and twelve 50kW ‘rapid-charging’ stations. Electricity at the 619 charging points will be provided free of charge until March 31, 2012.Nissan has agreed to supply Nissan LEAF electric vehicles to the region in early 2011 and to place priority on requests for electric vehicles in the UK from North East England.Nissan LEAF is the world’s first affordable electric vehicle. Designed specifically for a lithium-ion battery-powered chassis, the medium-size hatchback comfortably seats five adults and has a range of more than 160km (100 miles) to satisfy real-world consumer requirements.

March 2010 Nissan announces Nissan is to build its new electric car - the Leaf - at its Sunderland

plant, Hundreds of jobs are expected to be safeguarded once production begins in 2013 The investment is backed by a £20.7m government grant and up to £220m from the European

Investment Bank.


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Why is a Nissan a high tech industry? NMUK relies heavily on Information Technology to function. Computer-controlled robots and other machinery, particularly in the Body Shop, are vital to production. These machines are maintained and controlled by specialist engineering teams.

One of the innovative high tech techniques enables Nissan to practice 'Just in time' ordering of components. This means that the system is designed so that parts arrive very close to the time when their required.This reduces costs by doing away with the need for large areas of storage cutting out the need for a large workforce in the stores cutting bank interest

How is this achieved?When a vehicle starts it journey through the plant, a transponder is attached in which is stored all the information on the exact specification of the vehicle, from colour to trim to engine size. At each point along the way, this information informs the robots and/or humans exactly what to fit. But the neat part is ordering parts needed further down the line.


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Nissan on Tyneside