Nissan's plan for UK's biggest car factory: introducing two electric vehicle models

author: FutureCar Staff    

Nissan is set to make a significant announcement regarding the future of the UK's largest car factory in Sunderland. According to reports from Sky, the Japanese carmaker will build two new electric models to replace its Qashqai and Juke crossover cars. The investment in the factory could reach up to £1bn, with government subsidies expected to play a significant role.

This news comes shortly after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £2bn of government support for investments in zero-emission technology in the UK's automotive sector. Hunt stated that this measure had received a positive response from Nissan and Toyota, both of which have major factories in Britain.

The investment in the Sunderland plant will be welcomed by the UK car industry and the factory's 6,000 workers. It follows recent investment announcements from Tata and BMW, who are also focusing on electric vehicle production.

The Sunderland plant is currently capable of producing 600,000 cars per year at maximum capacity, making it the largest car factory in Britain. However, production has been lower in recent years due to Brexit uncertainty, the COVID-19 pandemic, and related supply chain issues.

The factory currently produces petrol models of the Qashqai and Juke, as well as the electric Nissan Leaf. It receives batteries from a neighboring factory owned by Chinese company AESC. The AESC factory is expanding its capacity to produce more batteries, aiming for 9GWh by 2024 and eventually 38GWh, enough to make approximately 600,000 car batteries annually.

In 2021, Nissan announced that Sunderland would become an electric vehicles hub, but specific details about the models to be produced there have not been revealed. Nissan has previously been a leader in electric car production with the Nissan Leaf, which started production in Sunderland in 2010. However, other carmakers have since surpassed Nissan in the electric technology field.

Despite this, Nissan has committed to going all-electric in Europe by 2030 and plans to proceed with the transition in the UK, even after Rishi Sunak's decision to postpone the ban on petrol and diesel cars until 2035. A spokesperson for Nissan declined to comment on the rumors and speculation surrounding the upcoming announcement.

FutureCar Staff