Nissan has announced a £170m investment to build a new hybrid SUV, the Kicks, at its Sunderland plant, marking its latest attempt to secure the future of Britain's biggest car factory. The move, welcomed by the business secretary Jonathan Reynolds as a "huge vote of confidence" in UK manufacturing, comes as the sector reels from Jaguar Land Rover's announcement of 4,000 job cuts and wider pressure from US tariffs, Chinese competition and high energy costs. However, Nissan's Europe head, Massimiliano Messina, said the investment is contingent on the UK weakening its electric vehicle sales mandate, tempering the announcement with a note of conditionality.

The Sunderland plant, which employs 6,000 people and currently runs at only 50% capacity, already produces the Qashqai, Juke and Leaf, with the Kicks becoming its fourth model despite never previously being built in Europe. The investment won't create new jobs but aims to sustain existing ones, and is tied to the government's ongoing consultation, running until late October, on cutting the ZEV mandate's 2030 target from 80% to as low as 50%. Nissan is separately negotiating with Chinese carmaker Chery to share production capacity, and is lobbying Brussels over EU "Made in Europe" rules that could otherwise threaten Sunderland's viability. The announcement follows McLaren's separate pledge of £500m for UK operations, including a new factory and 1,000 jobs.