Nissan has confirmed that it will build the next generation Qashqai and X-trail at the Sunderland UK Production Facility.

Nissan Motor Company Ltd. today announced, following its Executive Committee meeting, that it will produce the next Qashqai and will add production of the next X-Trail model at its Sunderland, U.K. Plant.

Nissan’s decision follows the U.K. government’s commitment to ensure that the Sunderland plant remains competitive. As a result, Nissan will increase its investment in Sunderland, securing and sustaining the jobs of more than 7,000 workers at the plant.

“I am pleased to announce that Nissan will continue to invest in Sunderland. Our employees there continue to make the plant a globally competitive powerhouse, producing high-quality, high-value products every day,” said Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Nissan. “The support and assurances of the U.K. government enabled us to decide that the next-generation Qashqai and X-Trail will be produced at Sunderland. I welcome British Prime Minister Theresa May’s commitment to the automotive industry in Britain and to the development of an overall industrial strategy.”

Nissan’s Sunderland plant opened in 1986 and has produced almost 9 million cars since. One in three British cars are produced in Sunderland, which is the UK’s largest car plant of all time. In addition, 80% of production from Sunderland is exported to over 130 international markets. More than 2 million Qashqai’s have been built in Sunderland in less than 10 years. In addition to the 7,000 direct employees at Sunderland, the plant supports a further 28,000 British automotive supply chain jobs. To date, Nissan has invested more than £3.7 billion in Sunderland.

PSA group are the first manufacturer to raise prices directly due to the UK's decision to leave the E.U.

PSA Group has raised prices for its new cars in the UK after the pound plunged following the country’s decision to leave the EU.

Other automakers including Fiat and Nissan have warned that car prices will have to rise to counter the pound's fall but PSA is the first to do so,

PSA increased UK car prices for its Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands on Aug. 1.

A Peugeot brand spokesman said the increase partly reflected the pound’s 10 percent fall in value against the euro following the Brexit vote on June 23. “We have to anticipate fluctuations in currency,” he said.

Peugeot didn’t give an average increase but in one example the entry 308 compact car rose by 435 pounds ($567) to 15,930 pounds, a 2.8 percent increase.

Citroen and DS prices rose by an average of 2 percent, a spokesman for those brands said. The price increase was planned before the recent exchange rate fluctuations, the spokesman said.

PSA’s three brands have a combined 7.24 percent share of the UK market based on sales in the first seven months. The French automaker has no local production to offset currency variations and imports all its cars into the country.

UK industrywide passenger car registrations increased by just 0.1 percent in July with private sales declining by 6.1 percent as consumer confidence fell, according to data from industry association SMMT released on Thursday.

Price rises would “hurt car sales” in the UK, Europe’s second largest market after Germany, JATO Dynamics global analyst Felipe Munoz said.

Automakers are still assessing what the UK’s exit from Europe means for business there, he said. “However the first effect is on the pound, and the price rise is the easiest and quickest way to deal with that,” he said.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn last week told journalists he had “no doubt” prices would have to rise in the UK.

Fiat brand's UK chief, Sebastiano Fedrigo, warned earlier this month that price rises are inevitable but said most companies are waiting to see if the pound stabilizes.

Automakers have warned that Brexit is hitting the profitability of their European operations.

Ford Motor, the UK's top-selling brand, said last month that Brexit has already cost the company $60 million because of the pound’s slump in value. It expects to lose $200 million this year and $400 to $500 million next year due to Brexit, Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said.

General Motors said it was considering cost cuts in Europe to offset up to $400 million of potential headwinds triggered by the Brexit vote. GM is seeking to return its Opel and Vauxhall to a full-year profit after years of losses.

Nick Gibbs

Automotive News Europe

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