The new Qashqai, a crossover that blends elements of the SUV and hatchback, will be developed at a design center in London and a technical center in southern England, before being built at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, northeast England.

Nissan Motor Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn announced the investment after meeting Britain’s prime minister David Cameron, saying it would safeguard 6,000 jobs, both directly and in the supply chain.

The British government welcomed the announcement which fits with its strategy of trying to lift manufacturing as the country struggles to recover from the financial crisis and ensuing recession. Manufacturing makes up 13 percent of the economy.

Business Secretary Vince Cable will visit Detroit next week where he will meet executives from Ford and General Motors to press the case for further investment in Britain.

Cable had talks with Nissan executives in Japan recently.

Cable planned to highlight the British motor industry’s revival in his address to industry leaders from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association in London.

“Some of us remember the 1970s when the car industry became a sad symbol of Britain’s decline; endless strikes, poor management, underinvestment,” he will say, according to advance extracts of his speech.

“Thanks mainly to overseas investors bringing new technology and management techniques, the industry had a renaissance.”

Cable is particularly targeting investment in production of electric and other low-carbon vehicles.

Although the car industry in Britain is now largely foreign owned, it still employs more than 700,000 and accounts for more than 10 percent of exports — an annual value of around 25 billion pounds.

Nissan also produces the Note and Juke cars at its Sunderland plant, 80 percent of whose output is exported. It is already investing 420 million pounds in Sunderland for the production of the LEAF electronic car from 2013.