Rishi Sunak says Sunderland will become 'Silicone Valley' for electric cars after Nissan announcement

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said Sunderland is set to become the UK’s electric vehicle “Silicon Valley” after Nissan announced it will invest billions to produce new electric versions of the Juke and Qashqai vehicles models at its plant in Washington.

Nissan confirmed this morning, Friday, November 24, it is providing up to £3billion in investment – £2billion of which has been confirmed today – in Sunderland and will require three gigafactories to be able to support future production.

It means that all three cars currently produced at the facility – the Leaf, Juke and Qashqai – will continue to be made in the UK in the future and will all become electric before the end of the decade.

The plant produced 238,000 cars in 2022.

Mr Sunak said: “Nissan’s investment is a massive vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, which already contributes a massive £71billion a year to our economy.

“This venture will no doubt secure Sunderland’s future as the UK’s Silicon Valley for electric vehicle innovation and manufacturing.

“Making the UK the best place to do business is at the heart of our economic plan.

“We will continue to back businesses like Nissan to expand and grow their roots in the UK every step of the way as we make the right long-term decisions for a brighter future.”

Gigafactories are core to the production of electric vehicles as they’re able to create large numbers of batteries required for EVs.

The term ‘gigafactory’ is believed to have been originally coined by Tesla boss Elon Musk.

Out of the investment, £1.12billion is provided by Nissan, with the rest provided by external partners, including battery providers.

It’s understood that a significant government investment makes up the figure, although no figures have been revealed, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announcing on Wednesday, November 22, that £2billion of support would be available for zero-emissions manufacturing.

In his Autumn Statement, Hunt said the announcement had been “warmly welcomed by Toyota and Nissan”.

Nissan dubs the plans ‘EV36Zero’, and says it will ‘transform its Sunderland manufacturing facility and create a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem’.

Nissan employs 7,000 people directly in the UK and supports another 30,000 jobs in its supply chain.

Sunderland Central’s Labour MP, Julie Elliott, said the investment meant the city had a “bright future”.

She said: “The decision by Nissan today is a great vote of confidence in the Sunderland plant.

“I am glad that the plant’s strong reputation for green technology continues with the announcement that the production of the new Qashqai and Juke electric vehicles will be built in Sunderland.

“The many thousands of highly skilled jobs at the plant and in the supply chain provide so many opportunities to residents of Sunderland Central, whether that’s young people starting out their new careers through apprenticeships, or long-serving, highly skilled workers.

“This investment has come at a great time for Sunderland as a city: a city primed for investment, with a bright future ahead.”

Nissan president and chief executive Makoto Uchida said: “Exciting, electric vehicles are at the heart of our plans to achieve carbon neutrality.

“With electric versions of our core European models on the way, we are accelerating towards a new era for Nissan, for industry and for our customers.

“The EV36Zero project puts our Sunderland plant, Britain’s biggest ever car factory, at the heart of our future vision.

“It means our UK team will be designing, engineering and manufacturing the vehicles of the future, driving us towards an all-electric future for Nissan in Europe.”

John McCabe, chief executive at the North East Chamber of Commerce, said investments such as Nissan’s “really highlight the North East’s huge potential”.

He said: “The announcement of the production of new electric models at Nissan’s Sunderland plant is fantastic news for the North East.

“As the only carmaker in the country with a dedicated battery plant on-site, Nissan is perfectly positioned to place the region and the wider UK at the front of electric vehicle production and green innovation.

“This transformative project will create more skilled, higher-paid jobs and safeguard hundreds of jobs in the region, and will provide a significant boost to the North East’s economy.

“Investments such as this really highlight the North East’s huge potential, with thriving regional supply chains and availability of renewable energy sources, and we look forward to working with Nissan to provide support for the project.”

Paul Butler, chief executive of the North East Automotive Alliance, said: "This investment, along with easing of global supply chain constraints, will see the North East automotive sector grow by £4billion over the next four years – making the combined turnover for the region in excess of £12billion per annum.

"The ramping up of production and new investment coming in, will create many thousands of jobs across the supply chain, which is great for the North East economy and UK PLC.”