Nissan Invests New Powertrain Factory Construction In UK For Future EV Line

The assembly line for the Nissan factory in Sunderland, England. (Doc. Nissan UK)

JAKARTA - It is no secret that Nissan is working on the presence of the next generation of Leaf, Qashqai and Juke models that will be assembled at the Sunderland factory, England.

To solidify its preparations, the Japanese manufacturer will build a special powertrain assembly site for the three electric vehicles at the same location.

Launching from Autocar, Friday, January 17, the facility will be operated by Japan Automatic Transmission Company (Jatco), a company whose majority shares are owned by Nissan and have produced transmissions for other manufacturers such as Renault.

It is estimated that this factory will create 183 new jobs and 400 additional jobs are claimed to be created throughout a wider supply chain.

Nissan and Jatco agreed to an investment deal with the British government, which will disburse 50 million pounds (Rp1 trillion) into the project. This is part of the push to help electric vehicle supply chains become more competitive.

"This will not only improve the development of our automotive industry, but will also help secure hundreds of jobs in the northeastern region of England," said Jatco's Business & Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds.

This investment is an additional 2 billion (IDR 40 trillion) funds promised by Nissan and his partners to be spent on expanding factory facilities in Sunderland to accommodate the construction of the latest EVs.

The project, called EV36Zero, includes the construction of a second battery factory to supply the next Leaf model and its third factory will also be planned for construction. The two factories will be jointly run with Chinese partner Envision.

"This is a fantastic step forward for the world's first EV36Zero plan," said Nissan's Senior Vice-President Manufacturing, Supply Chain, & Purchasing Nissan, Alan Johnson.

The first car to exit the assembly line of the Sunderland factory is the latest generation Leaf. It is said that this model will transform from a hatchback to a crossover.

The Leaf battery assembly line was previously now the venue for the next generation of electric Juke which is expected to arrive in 2027, along with the launch of the Qashqai SUV.