Nissan Motor pledges $2.5bn to expand UK electric-vehicle hub

BLOOMBERG

Nissan Motor Co will significantly ramp up electric-vehicle production in the UK with a £2 billion ($2.5 billion) investment at its Sunderland site in a boon to the country’s car industry.
The Japanese carmaker will set up another battery factory and produce electric versions of the popular Qashqai and Juke models at Britain’s largest carmaking hub, it said. Nissan will provide £1.1 billion directly, with the remainder expected to come from partners for the cell and power grid update.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose government is providing aid, said the plans represent a “massive vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry.” The move is good news for the UK after post-Brexit uncertainty clouded its prospects as a major automaking location. It follows recent announcements by Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors Ltd to build a £4 billion battery factory in Somerset and BMW AG’s decision to manufacture electric Mini models at its Oxford plant. Still, some questions remain. Vehicle output at Sunderland has roughly halved since churning out more than 500,000 cars in 2016. Nissan didn’t specify whether its latest plans would increase production.
Alan Johnson, a manufacturing executive for the company, said he doesn’t expect any significant change to employment at the site that currently has a staff of around 6,000. Building another battery plant means the UK is getting more of the infrastructure it desperately needs to keep EV making in the country.
In 2021, Nissan and battery partner Envision AESC announced a £1 billion investment to expand electric-car and cell making at Sunderland. Plans for a major battery plant in Blyth, also in the northeast of England, have been derailed after the startup behind it, Britishvolt, collapsed earlier this year.
Nissan is in talks with Envision AESC about a potential partnership also for the additional battery plant, Johnson said during an event at the Sunderland site. No timeline for the project was given. Envision AESC said in a separate statement it’s started a “feasibility study” on the potential expansion.
Sunderland already produces the compact Leaf EV in addition to the Juke and Qashqai combustion-engine autos. The latter was the UK’s best-selling car last year — the first locally-built model to earn that title in 24 years. The factory started production in 1986, with then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher painting a traditional Japanese doll at the opening ceremony. The site has since made more than 11 million cars. Getting Nissan to build more EVs at Sunderland is a symbolic victory for Sunak because of the city’s role in the Brexit referendum.