Nissan’s new chief executive has warned that the long-term future of its Sunderland car plant is not assured as he signalled the possibility of its Chinese partner using the facility to produce vehicles.
Ivan Espinosa, who took over as Nissan boss in April, told the FT Future of the Car summit that Sunderland was unlikely to be among the seven factories being shut down, just days after unveiling a sweeping turnaround plan that involves mass lay-offs and cutting its production to 10 plants.
“We have announced that we are launching new cars in Sunderland . . . In the very short term, there’s no intention to go around Sunderland,” said Espinosa.