Nissan has unveiled EV36Zero, a £1bn electric vehicle (EV) hub based at its Sunderland plant, creating around 1,650 jobs.

As part of the investment, Nissan’s partner Envision AESC will build an electric gigafactory, to increase production and provide batteries to power 100,000 Nissan EVs per year. Built adjacent to the Nissan plant, the new plant promises to increase the cost-competitiveness of EV batteries produced in the UK, using a new Gen5 battery cell with 30% more energy density for range and efficiency.

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“This is a landmark day for Nissan, our partners, the UK and the automotive industry as a whole,” said Ashwani Gupta, chief operating officer at Nissan. “EV36Zero will transform the idea of what is possible for our industry and set a roadmap for the future for all.”

Of the £1bn investment, the Japanese carmaker will invest up to £423m to produce a ‘new-generation all-electric’ vehicle in the UK.

Production in Sunderland will create 909 new jobs at the plant, and more than 4,500 in the UK supply chain, while safeguarding a further 75 R&D jobs. The project takes the total capital investment by Nissan into the plant past £5bn, and also includes:

  • R&D at Nissan’s European Technical Centre in Cranfield, Bedfordshire
  • Support for UK suppliers to transition to electric vehicles
  • Plant competitiveness and environmental improvements
  • Skills development in the Nissan workforce for future technologies

Other production locations have not yet been confirmed. More details about the new vehicle, including pricing and technology, will be released closer to the car’s sales launch.

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Commenting on the announcement, Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: “Today’s announcement of new investment into battery production in Sunderland is great news for the sector, the region and all those employed locally. It also demonstrates the UK automotive industry’s commitment to net zero and that the transition to these new electrified vehicles can be “made In Britain”.

“If we are to build one million electric vehicles by 2030, however, we need more such commitments, with at least 60 GWh of gigafactory capacity in this country by the end of the decade. The future competitiveness of our industry depends on securing these investments but also wider support for manufacturing. We need a Build Back Better Fund to help manufacturing transformation, as well as a plan for charging infrastructure that will assure consumers to make the switch to these vehicles.”