. | . |
Nissan announces UK battery gigafactory, new electric car By Ben PERRY Sunderland, United Kingdom (AFP) July 1, 2021
Japanese auto giant Nissan on Thursday announced plans to build the UK's first car-battery "gigafactory", where it will build a new electric vehicle. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the post-Brexit investment totalling 1.0 billion pounds ($1.4 billion, 1.2 billion euros), which is set to create 6,200 jobs, as "a major vote of confidence in the UK". Nissan's Chinese battery supplier Envision AESC will invest 450 million pounds to build the battery plant that will be run on renewable energy and power up to 100,000 Nissan electric vehicles per year. The facility, which will be built next to Nissan's largest European factory in Sunderland, was hailed as key to the UK's transition away from fossil fuel vehicles. The news comes just days after Nissan's French partner Renault unveiled plans for a Chinese-owned battery factory in France on Monday, as global carmakers race to meet booming demand for greener transport and governments target net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Nissan is to spend up to 423 million pounds on an all-electric vehicle, while Sunderland City Council will help to bring the total amount of investment up to 1.0 billion pounds. "This is a landmark day for Nissan, our partners, the UK and the automotive industry as a whole," Nissan's Chief Operating Officer Ashwani Gupta said at the unveiling of the EV36Zero project in Sunderland. Nissan, which had warned that a no-deal Brexit would threaten its 35-year-old Sunderland factory, said the new investment represents 6,200 jobs at the Japanese group and its UK suppliers. There will be 900 new Nissan jobs and 750 new Envision AESC jobs. - 'Huge step' - "This is a huge step forward in our ambition to put the UK at the front of the global electric vehicle race," said UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. "The cars made in this plant, using batteries made just down the road at the UK's first at scale gigafactory, will have a huge role to play as we transition away from petrol and diesel cars," he added. Nissan established Britain's first electric vehicle and battery production at Sunderland in 2013 with its Leaf car. The company has more recently faced a series of trials, from weak demand during the pandemic to the fallout from the arrest of former boss Carlos Ghosn, now an international fugitive after jumping bail and fleeing Japan. Nissan has meanwhile delayed the planned summer launch of its flagship new electric Ariya model to this winter over the global chip shortage plaguing automakers. Announced in July 2020, the new 100-percent electric model was initially supposed to go on sale in Japan from mid-2021, before arriving in Europe, North America and China by the end of the year. In the UK, Lei Zhang, founder and chief executive officer of Envision Group, said Thursday that his company was building on its long-term partnership with Nissan "to make high performance, longer range batteries for electric vehicles affordable and accessible for millions more motorists". He said growth in demand could bring future investment of up to 1.8 billion pounds and 4,500 jobs by 2030.
UK auto sector embraces electric car 'gigafactories' London (AFP) June 29, 2021 Britain's automotive sector must build huge electric car battery "gigafactories" to secure both its future and the transition to greener energy, industry body SMMT declared Tuesday. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) published an industry blueprint at its annual meeting, as demand grows for electric vehicles and speculation swirls over a possible UK gigafactory announcement from Japan's Nissan. The proposals, entitled 'Full Throttle: Driving UK Automotive Competitiveness', see ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |