UK's Electric Car Revolution Gets a Boost as Nissan Invests £2 Billion

Nissan and its partners have revealed their £2 billion plan to use its Sunderland facility to produce three different electric car models.

At the factory, the Japanese company will construct electric versions of the Qashqai and Juke in addition to the next generation of the Leaf, which is now manufactured there. Approximately 6,000 people' jobs might be directly saved by the program, and thousands more could be saved across the UK.

Nissan stated that in addition, a massive new battery plant dubbed a "gigafactory" will be required.

This is on top of the existing gigafactory that is being constructed by its partner, AESC, and the factory that is already located next to the auto plant.

Nissan's £2 Billion Commitment

Nissan plans to invest £1.12 billion in worker training and facility and supply chain preparation in the UK for the new vehicles.

The corporation claims that the entire new investment alongside the gigafactory will reach up to £2 billion.

AESC's chairman, Lei Zhang, said that the company has begun a feasibility study to extend its gigafactory activities in Sunderland. It is anticipated that the government would back the initiative, but it is unclear exactly how. Nissan has announced that it would get £15 million for its Bedfordshire research facility.

Nissan's former chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta stated earlier this year that the UK will find it difficult to compete with other auto-producing nations due to increased manufacturing costs driven up by energy prices and inflation. Gupta has since departed the company.

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Investment Boost and Government Support

The BBC's Today show featured Alan Johnson, senior vice president of manufacturing and supply chain at Nissan, who stated that the UK "can be a competitive place for car production, but everything needs to be right".

Nissan has benefited from assistance from the UK government through the Automotive Transformation Fund, which was boosted by £2 billion in Wednesday's Autumn Statement.

Regarding the amount of cash the firm has received from UK taxpayers, Mr. Johnson refuses to answer.

Nissan's declaration coincides with the government's confirmation of North East England as a "investment zone". nearly the course of five years, the government claims to have created nearly 4,000 new employment.

The largest auto manufacturing facility in the UK, located in Sunderland, was also forewarned by Mr. Gupta in the summer that it would become "unsustainable" in the absence of a tariff-related post-Brexit trade agreement.

A 10% duty on vehicles traded between the UK and EU will be imposed under regulations that are set to go into effect in January of next year, unless automakers obtain at least 45% of the value of their components from the UK or EU.

Since batteries are the most costly component of an electric car, some manufacturers in the EU and the UK have expressed concern that they won't be able to satisfy the standards and have asked for a postponement of the regulations.

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