Royal honour for Nissan global boss Makoto Uchida

President and CEO Makoto Uchida has been made an Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to UK/Japan business relations.

Nissan established its UK production site in Sunderland in 1984, starting production in 1986, and is now the biggest plant in the history of the UK car industry.

With international design and research facilities in London and Cranfield, a parts centre in Lutterworth and UK Sales and Marketing operations in Rickmansworth, Nissan today employs 7,000 people directly and supports 30,000 jobs in the UK supply chain.

On hearing the news, Mr Uchida said: “I am deeply humbled and sincerely thankful to receive this honor from His Majesty King Charles III.

“The relationship between Nissan and the UK began 40 years ago, and today it continues to be very strong.

“The honor of this award goes to our Nissan employees around the world and in the UK, where Nissan is proud to design, engineer and build vehicles.

“I thank them for all their efforts and for inspiring with their dedication and innovation.”

Mr Uchida joined the team in Sunderland last year to confirm the plant was to build the next generation of the all-electric Nissan Leaf as well as future electric versions of the Qashqai and Juke, as part of the Nissan EV36Zero blueprint for EV manufacturing.