Nissan's Sunderland Plant To Build New Model

19 December 2012, 00:00 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

£250 million's being invested into Nissan's factory at Sunderland after plans announced to build the brand new Infiniti model

The announcement means the facility will be able to produce up to 60,000 Infiniti models per year.

It is expected to create and secure hundreds of jobs across the UK and at the Sunderland plant.

It will be Nissan's first premium product to be manufactured at Sunderland.

The new Infiniti, which will be exported around the world, will be developed with help from the company's London design centre and European Technical Centre at Cranfield.

The new premium compact Infiniti model, based on the Etherea concept model (like the one pictured), is expected to be produced from 2015.

When production starts, Infiniti will become the first new car brand to be manufactured in the UK on this scale.

The announcement coincides with the news that this year, Nissan's Sunderland Plant will produce more than half a million cars for the first time - the first UK manufacturer to achieve this milestone.

During 2012, employment on-site passed 6,000 for the first time and global exports from the plant now exceed five million units.

Business Secretary Vince Cable will tour Nissan's Sunderland manufacturing plant  today (Weds 19th December) to celebrate the announcements.