Nissan ponders building cars for Chinese rivals at Sunderland plant

Nissan’s chief executive has confirmed he would consider building cars for other manufacturers at the UK’s largest car factory in Sunderland, amid talks with China’s Chery. Ivan Espinosa said Nissan was “looking at options” for Sunderland and its 6,000 workers as the struggling Japanese carmaker on Wednesday reported steep losses for the year to March. Nissan announced last week it was closing one of its two production lines at Sunderland, in north-east England , because of faltering demand for its vehicles. However, it has held talks to produce vehicles on behalf of Chery, according to industry sources. Chery is pushing aggressively into the UK and Europe with its Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda brands . Asked about the Chery talks on Sunderland, Espinosa said: “The plant is operating well, is a viable plant. The problem that we have at this location is the volume. So if we can find a smart way of bringing more volume in, we might consider doing something.” Espinosa added that there was “nothing specific about any partner to announce today, or any options, but this is something that we would likely look into considering”. Several carmakers in Europe have discussed sharing factory space with Chinese manufacturers. Ford has reportedly held talks with Geely over the sale of part of a plant in Valencia, Spain, while Stellantis – the owner of brands including Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall – announced last week it would build cars for Leapmotor at its factories in Madrid and Zaragoza. …