Nissan cuts two models from Sunderland plant

LONDON (BBC News): Nissan plans to end the production of two of its Infiniti cars at Sunderland.

It’s part of a bigger plan that involves pulling the Infiniti brand out of Western Europe. As a result the Q30 car and QX30 sports-utility vehicle will no longer be made in the UK.

Nissan did not say how many jobs will be affected, but said it will discuss any impact with employees. The move follow’s Nissan’s recent decision to build its new X-Trail model in Japan, instead of Sunderland.

The Infiniti brand has struggled to make a mark in Western Europe- last year sales halved to 5,800.

“Western Europe remains the most challenging and competitive region for premium cars,” Infiniti’s chief spokesman, Trevor Hale, said.

Instead, Nissan plans to promote the Infiniti brand in the US and Chinese markets.

In the US it plans to focus Infiniti on sports-utility vehicles and in China it plans to launch five new vehicles.

The Infiniti line-up of cars will be electric from 2010 and diesel versions will be discontinued, the company said.