Nissan invests £170m to build Kicks hybrid SUV at Sunderland plant

Nissan is investing £170 million to produce its Kicks hybrid SUV at its Sunderland plant in the North East of England, marking the model's European debut and securing the future of the UK's largest car factory. The announcement, made on September 16, 2026, confirms the compact crossover will be the tenth model built at the site, joining the Qashqai, Juke, and Leaf. The investment comes as the Sunderland plant celebrates its 40th anniversary of production. Nissan stated the facility has produced over 12 million vehicles since the first Bluebird rolled off the line in 1986, averaging one car every minute and 45 seconds. The plant currently employs around 6,000 people directly. The Kicks will be equipped with Nissan's third-generation e-Power hybrid system, where the wheels are powered solely by an electric motor while a 1.4-litre petrol engine acts as a generator. This technology is already used in the Qashqai and Juke models built in Sunderland. Production is expected to begin in summer 2027, with the Kicks to be assembled alongside the new all-electric third-generation Juke, for which trial production is set to start in the coming weeks.