Nissan is cutting one of the two production lines at its Sunderland plant — its main European facility, opened in 1986. Capacity is 500,000 vehicles a year; 2025 output was 273,174. European sales are falling: -4.8% in 2025, -11.9% in Q1 2026.
The Juke, Qashqai, and Leaf stay — consolidated onto a single line running three shifts. Nissan is in talks with Chery and Dongfeng to fill the freed space. Transformation starts in the second half of 2026.
Chery is expanding aggressively in Europe through several fronts: its own Jaecoo and Omoda sub-brands, plus arrangements with the Spanish Ebro brand and Italian DR Automobiles. There’s also a joint venture with Jaguar Land Rover producing the Freelander nameplate. What specifically would be built at Sunderland hasn’t been announced — Freelander models are one possibility.
