Nissan Built the 2 Millionth Qashqai Crossover in the UK

Production of Nissan’s successful Qashqai crossover has passed the two million mark at the Sunderland plant in the UK, less than eight years after the model’s debut.

Nissan says the manufacturing milestone has been reached faster than any other model in the history of the UK car industry. The two millionth Qashqai to roll off the production line was a Magnetic Red model in the new N-TEC grade and is destined for a UK customer.

Nissan has invested £534 million ($853.7 million) in the design, development and production of Qashqai in the UK since the model’s launch in December 2006. 85 percent (1,706,633) of the two million Qashqai crossovers made in Sunderland have been exported to 132 international markets, from the Congo to Qatar, with the model supporting more than 11,000 jobs in the UK car industry.

“Congratulations to all my colleagues in Sunderland for reaching this latest milestone. I am now looking forward to seeing how quickly we can reach three million units with this remarkable model, which embodies Nissan’s promise to bring innovation and excitement to our customers,” said Paul Willcox, Chairman of Nissan in Europe.

The Sunderland plant is responsible for the bulk of total global production of the Qashqai, which now tops 2.5 million. The first generation Qashqai was also built by Nissan in China and Japan. From 2015 the new Qashqai will also be manufactured in St. Petersburg for domestic sales in Russia.