Nissan confirms huge electric car battery 'gigafactory' in Sunderland

Nissan has unveiled plans for a huge factory in Sunderland to make batteries for electric cars.

The Japanese firm already makes the Leaf vehicle at the plant, which opened in 1986, but this would be a significant expansion - and the deal includes the North East car factory producing a 'next-generation' crossover. 

Bosses say the gigafactory will produce around 100,000 batteries per year.

And other models, including the Qashqai and Juke, will continued to be produced in Sunderland, say reports.

More than 1,600 jobs will be created in Sunderland and an estimated 4,500 in supply companies under an investment of £1billion. 

The gigafactory would be the first in the UK by a major car maker. Britishvolt, a start-up backed by Emirati and Scandinavian investors, is separately plotting a £2.6billion facility in Blyth, Northumberland, that would produce 300,000 batteries a year.

The factories will be crucial to plans to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030, with the Government seeking to encourage similar proposals from other companies.

Bosses at Nissan have agreed the plans after assurances of support from the Government, on top of its own £420million investment.

It is thought the plant could open in 2024, creating thousands of jobs. Nissan said Sunderland has ‘played a pioneering role in developing the electric vehicle market’. 

It said: ‘We will continue to electrify our line-up as part of our global journey towards carbon neutrality.’

Reference: Matt Oliver For The Daily Mail