Press problems halt Nissan car output

CAR production has restarted at Nissan in Sunderland ending a temporary shut-down at one of the world's most efficient car plants, according to The Northern Echo.

Last Monday, according to the newspaper, car making on both lines were halted after problems emerged in the factory’s press shop.

Production restarted this morning on Line 1, which makes the Qashqai and Leaf models, however plant bosses revealed that Line 2 is still shut.

A Nissan spokesman seemingly could not confirm when Line 2 would reopen.

"The focus has been on getting Line 1 back up and running," he said.

The temporary halt in production is believed to be the biggest unplanned shut-down in the plant's 30-year history. The company has yet to reveal the cost of the interruption. Each day, up to 2,000 cars are made at Nissan Sunderland.

Production associates arrived at work last week to be told that maintenance work had taken longer than planned and the press, which produces body parts, was still out of action.

Other departments in the plant have been working as normal while repairs to the press were carried out: Production has continued in electric vehicle batteries and cylinder heads.

Some of the factory's 6,700 workers have been given the option of booking lieu time or holidays until the work was completed, or carrying out other jobs.