Nissan to build new electric crossover and battery factory in UK
Nissan's EV36Zero plan is a £1bn initiative to transform its Sunderland site into a 'flagship EV hub'
Nissan has confirmed wide-reaching plans to electrify its operations in Sunderland, UK with a £1bn commitment to producing EV batteries and an all-new electric car at the site.
The manufacturer's new 'EV36Zero' initiative is jointly funded by Nissan, its battery production partner Envision AESC and Sunderland City Council. It will, says the brand, bring together "electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production, setting a blueprint for the future of the automotive industry".
The project represents around 6200 jobs at the site and across its supply chain, said Nissan, with 900 new roles created at Nissan, and 750 at Envision.
Nissan is expanding its operations in the Tyne and Wear region in line with a view to making the UK its biggest production hub outside of Japan.
It recently outlined plans to expand its Sunderland battery production facility, run by engineering partner Envision, to supply larger power packs for the UK-built Leaf, in line with post-Brexit foreign trade rules. Now, an all-new facility will supply power packs for all Nissan EVs, as Nissan works to create "a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem".
The new, dedicated battery factory will far exceed the 1.9GWh capacity of that existing facility with an eventual capacity of 35GWh - matching the output Tesla's site in Nevada. With Envision initially investing £450m, it will enter operations with a capacity of 9GWh, ramping up to 25GWh by 2030 and full capacity ten years later. Nissan said it will supply batteries for up to 100,000 of its EVs per year.
Some £423m, meanwhile, will be allocated to the production of a new electric crossover which "promises next-generation vehicle styling, efficiency and battery technology, making the switch to electric driving even more accessible". Nissan remains tight-lipped on its positioning, but a preview image suggests it will be slightly smaller than the Ariya, but adopt a similar coupé-style silhouette.
It will use the same CMF-EV architecture used by the Ariya and Alliance partner Renault's new Mégane E-tech. A production start date has not been given, but the current-generation Leaf will go out of production around 2024, suggesting the new model could be a replacement for Nissan's pioneering production EV.
The Sunderland site will produce the new EV for European markets, resulting in the creation of 909 new jobs at the site, while safeguarding a further 75 R&D positions. Nissan has promised further details on additional global production sites, pricing and release dates closer to the vehicle's launch.
Rumours persist that Tesla could be considering its own battery factory in the UK, although this possibility was weakened in 2019 when the firm opted to open a site near Berlin in Germany (which has lately been beset by permit delays and local opposition).
A recent visit to the UK by Tesla boss Elon Musk reignited suggestions that a Tesla production outpost here is back on the cards, although he has yet to publicly comment on the speculation.
This breaking news story is being updated.
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