Japanese car group Nissan Motor is to build a major factory for batteries for electric cars at its car factory in Sunderland, UK. Nissan is also working with its Chinese cooperation partner Envision AESC.
Nissan will also build a new electric crossover car model in Sunderland, in the northeast of England.
These investment plans involve an amount of 1 billion pounds, equivalent to almost 1.2 billion euros. The new Giga battery factory creates 6,200 new jobs in Sunderland and at the factory’s British suppliers. The facility is to supply batteries for 100,000 cars per year. Nissan is currently building the electric Leaf in Sunderland.
Batteries are already being produced for this on a smaller scale at that location. The Nissan Qashqai and Juke are also off the production line in Sunderland, which now employs about 6,000 people. It is Nissan’s largest factory in Europe.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it a “sign of great confidence from Nissan in the UK and the skilled workforce in the North East of England”. The United Kingdom wants to invest heavily in the production of batteries for electric cars to secure its own car industry in the future.
The government wants a ban on the sale of new cars with petrol and diesel engines from 2030, but the production of electric cars will have to be significantly increased in order to realize this ambition.
Earlier this week, Envision announced that Envision would also build a large factory for batteries for Renault electric cars in France. That factory will be located in Douai in the north of France. The project involves an investment of 2 billion euros, and it should lead to employment for 4500 people in the region. Renault and Nissan are cooperation partners in a car alliance.
