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Nissan to manufacture electric car batteries in UK

The UK Government has welcomed Nissan’s plans to invest more than £200 million in a new lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Sunderland in the north east.

The new plant, Nissan’s European Centre of Excellence for Battery Manufacturing, will make Nissan Sunderland a strong contender to manufacture the company’s new generation of electric vehicles.

The news of Nissan’s plans come on the same day as the Government announces that the north east is to become the country’s first Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA) specialising in ultra-low carbon vehicles.

Last week, as part of the Government newly unveiled Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, the south west was designated the UK’s first LCEA for marine energy.

The new North East LCEA, which will be led by regional development agency One North East, will aim to bring together national, local and regional agencies to transform the automotive industry in the region.

As part of the effort, the Government will establish a training centre specialising in the manufacture and maintenance of ultra-low carbon vehicles, along with a research and development centre and an open access test track.

“This is good news not just for the north east, but for the whole of the UK, helping to attract foreign investment and securing UK’s place as a global leader in high-tech manufacturing and automotive industries,” says Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.

Earlier this month, One North East unveiled plans to roll out 750 charging points for electric vehicles across the region in partnership with a number of businesses including Tesco, British Gas, CE Electric UK, the AA and Capital Shopping Centres.

“The north east’s LCEA will be extremely important for the future of the automotive industry in the region and will enable One North East to attract further investment related to electric vehicles and their infrastructure,” says chair of One North East Margaret Fay.

In other good news for the region, Toyota has confirmed that it is to start production of its hybrid Auris model at its plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire.

Work will start at the plant mid-next year, while engines will be assembled at the company’s facility in Deeside, north Wales. The current Auris has sold 370,000 vehicles since its launch in 2007 and the new model reduces emissions by 17% (to 135 g/km) and improves fuel efficiency by 19%.

The move, says Toyota president and CEO Tadashi Arashima, is aimed at making hybrid vehicles more accessible to a wider range of customers and increasing the number of low-carbon vehicles on European roads.

For further information:
www.nissan-global.com/EN/index.html
www.onenortheast.co.uk/
www.berr.gov.uk/
www.toyota.eu/

20 July 2009

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