286Japanese manufacturing investment in Europeproduction capacity being expanded to 100,000 units per year, local content rising from an initial 60 per cent to 80 per cent by 1991, and 30�0 per cent of output being exported to Continental Europe. The investment in Phase I was forecast at 50 million, and the total cost through Phase II at 350 million. The British government was expected to provide selective financial assistance up to 10 per cent of the total investment. Production of the Bluebird began on schedule in July 1986, and the decision to proceed with Phase II was taken in March 1987he first exports were shipped in October 1988. Production of a second small car in the Micra class was scheduled for late 1992. In April 1989, the company announced plans to build a high-technology aluminium foundry at the Sunderland plant to make specialised cylinder heads for the Bluebird and Micra models from 1991. The heads would replace imports from Japan and would raise the local content of the UK-built vehicles 33he main engine blocks were still to be imported from Japan. The Bluebird was taken out of production in September 1990, and replaced by a new model, the Primera (known as the Infiniti G20 in the United States). The introduction of the Primera marked a significant change in Nissan European product strategy. Previously high valueadded uality�cars had been exported from Japan, while low valueadded models had been produced locally. The UK plant was to build the saloon and hatchback versions of the Primera, while the estate car version was to be imported from Japan. Indeed, the UK plant was to be the sole source world-wide for the hatchback, and plans were announced in October 199034 to export the model back to Japan from 1991, and to export both hatchback and saloon versions to Taiwan. The latter move was taken to circumvent Taiwanese restrictions on direct car exports from Japan. The cost of the whole Nissan project had risen to about 900 million by the start of the 1990s. Output had risen from about 50,000 vehicles in 1988 to 76,000 in 1990, to 124,000 in 1991, and was forecast to reach 175,000 in 1992. 35 Purchases from European and British suppliers amounted to 600 million in 1991, and were forecast to rise to 850 million in 1993. The corresponding figures for the UK-based components industry were 420 million and 655 million. About 80 per cent of this output was to be exported to the European Communityouble the original target of 30�0 per cent and contributing about 500 million to the UK balance of tradeue to strong Continental demand and the fall in sales in the United Kingdom. The latter was partly a reflection of a more general
