Nissan to invest £1.12 billion in the UK for two new EV models

Nissan gave a boost to the nation's car sector and a prime minister who is eager to draw in foreign investment when it announced on Friday that it will invest 1.12 billion pounds in its British factory to produce electrified versions of two models.

The Japanese carmaker stated that the electric Qashqai and Juke, which are now made in Sunderland, northeast England, would require an expenditure of up to two billion pounds in total. This investment would include funding for infrastructural improvements and the construction of a third battery facility in Britain.

It is anticipated that the initiative will get government backing.

Nissan has been producing its electric Leaf model in Sunderland for a number of years, and it will keep doing so as long as a modest facility there provides the batteries.

The agreement sets the stage for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Global Investment Summit the following week, where he would attempt to rekindle interest from foreign businesses that had become less interested in Britain due to Brexit in 2016 and subsequent political unrest.

Alan Johnson, senior vice president of manufacturing and supply chain of Nissan, said on BBC radio that "government support is always important." "Discussions are ongoing with the government, (and are) not concluded."

Nissan has been present in Britain since 1986, and this investment will assist in sustaining 7,000 jobs in Sunderland and 30,000 jobs in the supply chain.

The British corporation views Britain as a vital centre. When other foreign investors were shying away from the UK due to years of uncertainty surrounding its trading agreements following Brexit, its investment in 2021 batteries was a sign of confidence.

By 2030, Nissan intends to sell entirely electric vehicles in Europe, and it says it will reveal the models' names and the dates of their manufacturing debuts later.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)