Nissan in talks to build a new UK electric vehicle battery factory Yorkshire News

Nissan is reportedly in talks to build a new electric vehicle battery factory in the UK.

The Japanese automaker already builds its Leaf electric car in Sunderland, with batteries built nearby at a factory operated by the Chinese group Envision.

However, according to the Financial Times, Nissan is in talks with the government to build a massive new site in the city that would make it the company’s main electric vehicle production center outside of Japan.

The site would produce up to 200,000 batteries a year when fully operational, according to FT, with output of up to 20GWh compared to 1.9GWh at the existing factory.

The FT report claims that talks on the plans are at an “advanced” stage, and Envision is expected to operate the site. However, neither Nissan nor the government confirmed the story.

In a statement, Nissan said: “Having established UK battery and electric vehicle production in 2013 for the Nissan Leaf, our Sunderland plant has played a pioneering role in the development of the electric vehicle market.

“As previously announced, we will continue to electrify our lineup as part of our global journey to carbon neutrality. However, we have no further plans to announce at this time.”

The government has said it wants the UK to be a world leader in electric vehicle technology and is looking for options to encourage manufacturers to set up factories here. However, a spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy declined to comment specifically on the talks with Nissan, saying: “We are committed to ensuring that the UK continues to be one of the best places in the world for car manufacturing. through a major investment program to electrify our supply chain, create jobs and ensure a competitive future for the industry. “

The government is in talks with several other companies about creating so-called gigafactories in the UK, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s visit sparked rumors that the US electric vehicle firm may be considering a site in the country. . Musk previously suggested that Tesla could build a battery plant in the UK before the brand decided to locate its factory in Germany.

Other plans for battery factories serving the electric vehicle market include a proposed scheme near Coventry and BritishVolt’s plans to convert the former Blyth power station in Northumberland into a facility that can produce batteries for up to 300,000 vehicles per year.

Nissan plans to launch its first electric SUV, the Ariya, later this year and many more mainstream automakers have plans to vastly expand their electric vehicle ranges this year.