The Japanese car maker announced Thursday that it plans to build a
UK battery
"
giga-factory
" next to its existing Sunderland site in the north of the country, where it will manufacture a new electric vehicle.
Read also: Nissan's turnaround hampered by semiconductor shortage
Prime Minister Boris Johnson described as a "
major vote of confidence in the United Kingdom
" this post-Brexit investment which totals 1 billion pounds in the largest European plant of Nissan, and which will generate 6,200 jobs. Nissan's battery supplier, the Chinese Envision AESC, will invest 450 million pounds in this plant which will run on renewable energies and will equip 100,000 electric vehicles of the group per year.
Nissan plans to spend up to 423 million pounds on an all-electric vehicle while Sunderland City Council will complete the investment to the tune of 1 billion pounds.
“
This is a historic day for Nissan, our partners, the UK and the automotive industry,
” said Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta.
6,200 jobs at stake
Nissan, which warned that a no-deal Brexit would threaten the existence of its 35-year-old Sunderland plant, said the new project would create 6,200 jobs in the group and among its British suppliers.
