WHAT a way to start the New Year! Nissan got 2012 off to a stunning start with an impressive set of statistics from its Sunderland car-manufacturing plant.
In case you missed it, the company announced that in 2011 the factory made a total of 480,485 vehicles, dwarfing the 2010 figure of 423,262, which itself was the first time any UK car plant had ever made more than 400,000 cars in one year.
Not surprisingly, we covered the story in full here on Nissan Insider, but did you see the coverage the story received elsewhere? From The Sun to the Sunderland Echo, Nissan’s success was big news.
Here’s a quick round-up of what the papers said.
The Sun
In a story headlined ‘Workers so driven,’ the paper reported: ‘A UK car industry record has been set by Nissan workers who built 480,485 cars last year. This year, producing batteries for electric cars will add 300 staff to the current 5,462 total.’
Daily Telegraph
Reporter Graham Ruddick’s story in the paper was headlined ‘Nissan’s Sunderland plant revs up record.’ He wrote: ‘Nissan’s plant in Sunderland produced more cars in 2011 than any UK car factory has ever made in a year. The plant is being boosted by worldwide demand for Qashqai and Juke models.’
The Independent
The online version of the newspaper reported: ‘The 2011 figures for Sunderland reflected the first full year of production of the Juke model as well as 24-hour production of the Qashqai and Qashqai+2.’
BBC
BBC News business reporter John Madslien wrote in an analysis piece on the corporation’s website: ‘The UK arm of the Japanese car maker Nissan has every reason to cheer’ adding that the factory enjoyed a reputation for being particularly efficient.
Sunderland Echo
The local paper’s website carried a report headlined ‘Production record for Nissan plant‘ and the newspaper was among those to quote Paul Everitt of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, who said: ‘Many congratulations to the Nissan team for achieving record-breaking production volumes. They demonstrate the strength of UK automotive manufacturing which continues to buck the economic trend, outperforming 2010 by an anticipated six per cent.’
The Mirror
‘Qashing in on exports’ was the Mirror’s take. The paper said: ‘The sales record was set despite disruption due to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster, forcing manager to extend the Easter shutdown period and reduce overtime. Nissan flogged 36,826 Qashqai models in the first 11 months of 2011, making it Britain’s ninth best-seller.’
Other news organisations to cover the story included What Car?, the Northern Echo and the Microsoft Medium Business Centre.