Nissan to build its vital new EVs in UK

Sunderland plant secures production of electric successors to the Qashqai and Juke best-sellers

- JAMES ATTWOOD

Nissan will invest up to £1.12 billion in its UK operations to build the electric successors to the current huge-selling Qashqai and Juke models at its factory in Sunderland - where they will join the next-generation Leaf.

The Japanese firm currently produces three models at the plant: the hybrid Qashqai and Juke, and the electric Leaf.

In 2021, Nissan confirmed a £1bn investment in the site to produce the next-generation Leaf successor and develop a battery factory with an eventual annual capacity of about 35GWh - enough to supply around 100,000 EVs with batteries.

The new announcement considerably ramps up the ambitions for the site, with the total investment package worth around £2bn including partners - amounting to £3bn investment overall. Significantly, it will include a third battery factory and a big ramp-up of the renewable-energy EV36Zero microgrid.

Nissan will also invest in its UK-wide R&D facilities, with £30 million - including £15m of government investment - assigned to a collaborative project to boost zero-emission expertise at the Nissan Technical Centre in Cranfield.

Nissan has confirmed that the next-generation Qashqai and Juke will take styling inspiration from two electric concept cars shown at the Tokyo motor show recently. The new Qashqai will draw on the Hyper Urban concept, with the Juke inspired by the smaller Hyper Punk. Both cars feature sharp 'origami-inspired' geometric styling lines. Nissan says more information on the models, including names and launch dates, will be released "at a later time".