At 8.45pm on Sunday June 29th 2008, Nissan will launch a night shift at its plant in Sunderland, marking the start of ‘round-the-clock’ production.

The third shift has created 800 new jobs at the plant and has been implemented in response to continuing excellent customer demand for the award-winning Qashqai crossover.

Since its launch in March 2007, over 200,000 Qashqais have been sold across Europe. This demand has led to a doubling of the original production forecast for the current Financial Year.

The third shift will also help Sunderland meet expected demand for the ‘Qashqai +2’, a seven Seat version of the original 5-seater car that will be officially unveiled at next month’s London Motor Show.

‘Qashqai +2’ will enter production in August 2008 and go on sale across Europe in September.

Trevor Mann, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing in Europe, said: “Qashqai has proven so popular that we need to increase our volume to significantly more than 200,000 cars this year.

“The introduction of a third shift is a large commitment by Nissan in its UK operation, and will allow Sunderland to better meet the unprecedented and ongoing customer demand for this car, and also for Qashqai +2.”

The hiring of 800 new staff has been a major campaign for the plant, with 10 applications received for every post.

Each new employee has completed one week’s worth of induction, including basic skills instruction, plant familiarisation, and health and safety training.

The recruitment process, one of the biggest in the plant’s history, also included comprehensive skills testing and production line trials.

All recruits will work on the Qashqai production line, which currently manufactures around 4,500 cars per week. This will rise to around 6,100 units per week once the third shift is running at full volume.

Earlier in June, Nissan President and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, visited the plant to see preparation for the third shift, and to announce that a new, innovative compact car will be launched in Sunderland from 2010.