Nissan to make two new electric car models in Sunderland - reports

Nissan will announce that it is to build two new electric models at its Sunderland plant, according to reports..

The Financial Times reported that the factory is to build successors to the existing Nissan and Qashqai models on Wearside, with a total investment worth around £1billion.

The paper says the decision, which will be formally confirmed tomorrow, has been backed by financial support from the UK Government that could run into 'hundreds of millions'.

The Sunderland plant employs around 6,000 people directly, with more than twice as many in its supply chain, much of which is based on Wearside.

In July 2021, Nissan unveiled its EV36Zero project, a wider partnership with Sunderland City Council to create an electric vehicle hub supporting next generation electric vehicle (EV) production and accelerating the transition to net zero carbon mobility.

Nissan's battery partner AESC started construction of a new gigafactory near the Nissan plant in December last year.

The firm’s second Sunderland plant will have a capacity of 12 GWh and produce enough batteries to power more than 100,000 electric vehicles.

It will build AESC’s latest generation of battery, with 30% more energy capacity, offering improved range and efficiency.

Sunderland-born economist Paul Swinney said the latest announcement was great news for Sunderland but underlined the need to expand the city's economic base to improve the range of jobs on offer.

“Nissan’s re-commitment to building in Sunderland is a great boost for the city," said Paul, director of Policy and Research at the think tank Centre for Cities.

"It employs many thousands of people, and it supports the cafés, bars and restaurants through the money that it puts in people’s pockets.

"That said, the city is currently very much more reliant on the automotive sector than most other cities are on their key industries.

"Sunderland needs more than one engine of growth if, should Nissan ever decide to leave, it’s departure doesn’t have the same impact that the closure of the mines and shipyards had.

"This is why the ongoing changes in the city centre, and the proposed Crown Works film studios in Pallion are so important to bring not just more jobs, but more higher-paid jobs to the city.”