Nissan announce all-new compact sports utility vehicle

With manufacture of an all-new Nissan compact sports utility vehicle penciled in to commence as of 2010, the Wearside installation prepares to bid farewell to its last high-volume produced Micra at the same time.

As yet, any concrete details involving tech spec, pricing and production ambitions remain thin on the ground, although it shouldn't be long before Nissan breaks its silence after this weeks turn of events, welcomed by many as something of a double-edged sword.

Events which kick-off today as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits Nissan's European Design Centre in London where he's likely to reveal a package of government support that underlines the UK's commitment to elongating Nissan's long-established relationship and alliance with the Washington-based manufacturing facility and the North East community.

Quite whether this funding will be pitched toward model development or reinforce new capacity is unclear at this juncture, however the government's primary aim is to enable the Sunderland plant to maintain its standing as one of the most efficient Nissan factories in Europe.

Built in 1984, 350,000 cars on average – predominantly the Nissan Micra during this period – are churned out year in, year out and exported around the globe. Indeed, Nissan CEO – Carlos Ghosn – is also set to announce plans to step-up manufacture of the Nissan Qashqai at the same time as plans for the future model are outlined in coming weeks, the wheels of which were set in motion in February when Nissan created an extra 1,200 positions.

Nudging total staffing to around 4,700 – along with an additional shift to cope with escalating demand for the Qashqai SUV Crossover on the back of a record-breaking production year – this whole new model affair must carry distant echoes of 2003 for the acclaimed Sunderland workforce though.

Nissan Micra goes East

Five years back, when the existing Micra model was unveiled as a then new car, the government pledged a financial support package to Nissan to ensure that the Wearside manufacturing base was all but guaranteed assembly. Which came shortly after Mr Ghosn rattled his sabres by expressing his intent to transfer production elsewhere should Blair and Co not play investment ball.

Since elsewhere meant France – and moreover the strength of the pound-Euro being key to proceedings – the UK did all they could to secure the Micra's continued presence, not to mention that of its core employees. Fast forward to 2008.

Incidentally, the next generation Micra will be pieced together in India, and constructed on a new A-platform that will form the base of up to three new Nissan models, itself heralding the advent of the Japanese manufacturer bringing swathes of its engineering and technological knowledge to bear in the entry-level market, and in particular the city car segment.