Nissan’s European R&D centre in Cranfield celebrates 30 years of engineering excellence.

First founded on 27th May 1988, Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) evolved from providing technical support to Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK (NMUK) into one of Nissan’s global development centres.

NTCE has been responsible for launching 32 models in Europe in its lifetime, including the Nissan Qashqai, which was designed and tested across its R&D sites in Europe.

NTCE has most recently been integral in bringing the new all-electric Nissan LEAF to market; from implementing the European customer requirements through to launching the European production at Nissan’s UK manufacturing plant (NMUK) earlier this year. Since its launch in autumn last year, orders for the LEAF have exceeded 35,000, making it the fastest-selling electric vehicle in Europe.

Matthew Ewing, Vice President of Vehicle Design & Development, NTCE commented: “During the 30 years of NTCE, we have grown from a small team to over one thousand staff. Progressing from launch support and parts localisation, our Engineers at NTCE now ensure the very specific European requirements are incorporated into all our models. Our engineers are here to deliver innovative products and technologies that excite our customers”.

NTCE’s operations have also geographically expanded, with facilities now in the UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium & Russia.

Always looking to the future, employees of NTCE passionately engage with supporting the next generation of engineers through hosting many technical career promotion events, under the UK’s Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths (STEM) framework. Several hundred local school children and those in higher education have taken part, raising their achievement and engagement with STEM subjects and careers.

Photo Caption: Nissan Technical Centre, Cranfield