Nissan confirms production of new electric Qashqai and Juke in Sunderland
Firm says a third battery gigafactory will be required to support the plant
The UK’s largest car factory has been futureproofed as Nissan today confirms the production of new electric Qashqai and Juke models in Sunderland.
It means that all three cars currently produced at the facility in Tyne and Wear – 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.
Nissan says it is providing up to £3bn in investment – £2bn of which has been confirmed today – in Sunderland and will require three gigafactories to be able to support future production. The plant produced 238,000 cars in 2022.
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, £1.12bn is provided by Nissan, with the rest provided by external partners, including battery providers. The firm says the figure does not include any investment from the UK government.
Nissan dubs the plans ‘EV36Zero’, and says it will ‘transform its Sunderland manufacturing facility and create a world-first EV manufacturing ecosystem’.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Sunderland would become the ‘UK’s Silicon Valley’.
Sunak said: “Nissan’s investment is a massive vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, which already contributes a massive £71 billion 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.”
The Qashqai is often regarded as the first ‘crossover’ of its type in 2007 and three generations later remains hugely popular, and was Britain’s best-selling car in 2022, and represents one in five of all cars built in the UK. The Juke followed up as a smaller crossover in 2010, while production of the Leaf – the first mass-market electric car – began at the plant in 2013.
The replacements for all three cars are set to be ‘inspired’ by concept cars, two of which were recently shown at the Tokyo motor show, and will bring a radical redesign to the three models. The first new model is expected to arrive in 2026.
