Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., announced today that it would start construction of a second engine facility at its Iwaki Plant in Fukushima Prefecture to meet rising demand for the VQ V6 engine. The new facility, which is expected to start operations in the summer of 2006, would boost the plant’s total annual production capacity to 560,000 units from its current 396,000 units.

“The Iwaki Plant expansion programme will enable us to boost production of the world-renowned VQ V6 engines and also respond quickly to customer demand,” said Tadao Takahashi, Nissan’s executive vice president in charge of manufacturing.

The Iwaki Plant is one of Nissan’s main domestic engine manufacturing plants. Since it began operations in 1994, the plant has produced a total of 3.61 million 2.0-litre and 3.5-litre VQ V6 engines.

The original VQ V6 engine was first installed in the Maxima sedan bound for North America in May 1994. Today the engine is available in a total of 11 models, including the 350Z coupe and roadster, the Murano, the Maxima and the Skyline (aka Infiniti G35).

The 3.5-litre VQ V6 engine was named to Ward’s 10 Best Engines list in 2004 for the 10th straight year. Nissan’s VQ V6 is the only engine that has made the list every year since Ward’s Communications, Inc., started presenting the award.