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150 new jobs as Nissan sales surge
NISSAN'S Wearside plant is to create 150 new jobs as demand surges for its cars.
Bosses at the Washington factory said it had been given a major sales boost by scrappage schemes in Europe offering motorists cash to exchange old vehicles for greener models.
That increase in demand is expected to continue as customers take advantage of the scrappage scheme now up and running in the UK.
Nissan today announced plans to recruit 150 manufacturing staff on fixed four-month contracts from June.
The good news comes as sales of Nissan's Sunderland-built Qashqai are rocketing.
In an unexpected but welcome boost for the plant, sales of the 4x4 family car are up year on year.
Gabi Whitfield, a spokeswoman for the motoring giant, said: "Qashqai is our shining star."
Nissan sold 1,539 Qashqais and 296 of the new Qashqai+2 in the UK last month, a rise of 349 – more than 23 per cent – on last April.
Across the continent, the rise was even sharper.
The firm sold 12,463 Qashqais and 3,275 Qashqai+2s Europe-wide last month, up from 10,300 in the same month last year.
The rise helped Nissan increase its share of the UK car market from 2.6 per cent to more than 3.2 per cent last month.
Ms Whitfield said: "We all know the market is declining, and our focus is on making sure we hold on to, or increase, our market share.
"The success of Qashqai and Qashqai+2 is a huge, huge part of that."
Nissan is reintroducing weekend working at Washington tomorrow as the car market shows its first signs of recovery.
The success of car scrappage schemes in Europe has increased demand dramatically, including a 40 per cent rise in sales in Germany.
Ms Whitfield added: "We believe we have increased the potential market by another 200,000 possible buyers and we want to encourage them into buying a British-built car from our Washington plant."
UK sales of the other models produced there – the Micra and the Note – held up reasonably well last month.
It sold 900 Micras last month, down from 964 in April 2008, and 1,004 Notes, down from 1,300.
Micra sales went up slightly across Europe last month to 6,120, a rise of four per cent, but Note sales were down 39 per cent to 3,945.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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