Nissan will resume phased production in early June at its northern English Sunderland factory, the UK’s biggest auto plant, as the sector attempts to resume operations amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Output at the site, which made almost 350,000 vehicles last year and builds the Qashqai, Juke and Leaf models, has been postponed since March 17.
“During this period the majority of plant workers will remain furloughed, and we are grateful for the government support that has enabled us to take this action,” the company stated.
Last week it started piloting safety measures associating about 50 staff at the location.
BMW’s Rolls-Royce car factory looks set to be the first British auto factory to restart output with a start date of May 4.
“We are getting orders from our customers and we are heeding the British government’s call to restart production and support the British economy,” stated its chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes.
Aston Martin, Bentley and Britain’s biggest automaker Jaguar Land Rover are also set to restart some production next month.
About 177,454 people in the UK have been confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus. The virus has killed 27,510 people in the country.
