Nissan to build Leaf in Sunderland

Nissan underlined its commitment to zero emission leadership by announcing, on 18th March 2010, that the all-electric Nissan Leaf will be manufactured at its plant in Sunderland, UK.

Nissan’s pre-launch publicity claims that the Leaf is the world’s first affordable medium-sized electric car, designed specifically around a lithium-ion battery-powered chassis, and capable of carrying five adults in comfort. It is, says Nissan, ‘the embodiment of Nissan's radical, transformative vision for the future and the culmination of decades of investment and research.’

UK sales launch in early 2011

Production of the Leaf will begin in Oppama, Japan in late 2010 followed by Smyrna, Tennessee, USA in 2012. Sunderland will come on-line in early 2013 with an initial annual production capacity of about 50,000 units. The three production sites will support the sales launch of the model, which begins in late 2010 in Japan, the United States and selected European markets, ahead of global mass marketing from 2012. The UK sales launch of the Leaf will be in early 2011.

Nissan also said that construction of its advanced lithium-ion battery plant in Sunderland will begin in April, 2010. It will have a production capacity of 60,000 units a year and will start manufacturing batteries in 2012 for both Nissan and its Alliance partner Renault.

£420 million investment in Sunderland plant

The production of the Leaf and the batteries represents a total investment of more than £420 million (468.2 million euros) in the Sunderland plant and is expected to maintain about 2,250 jobs at Nissan and across the UK supply chain. The investment will be supported by a £20.7 million (23.1 million euros) Grant for Business Investment (GBI) from the UK government and a proposed finance package from the European Investment Bank of up to 220 million euros (£197.3 million).

The Leaf, Nissan stresses, is a ‘real car’, an everyday car rather than an urban runabout, with a 100 mile range on one charge that satisfies the daily driving requirements of more than 70% of the world's motorists In the UK, the vast majority of drivers travel less than 60 miles a day making the Leaf an excellent fit for urban commuters and leaving sufficient energy to power ancillary equipment. Its top speed of 90 mph also fits the profile of a majority of drivers.

UK a world leader in electric cars

The UK’s Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: ‘This investment is a fantastic vote of confidence in the Sunderland plant and its excellent workforce. The automotive sector is of key importance to the UK. It supports R&D, technological innovation, skills and a supply chain that’s a mainstay of the wider manufacturing sector. Today’s news from Nissan, with support from government, shows that by working together we can achieve our aim of making the UK a world-leader in ultra-low carbon vehicles.’

Andy Palmer, senior vice president at Nissan Motor Co, and responsible for the company's global EV strategy, said: ‘The world is at the dawn of a new era in automotive transport. Nissan Leaf, which will go on sale later this year, is a five-seater hatchback that offers the same space, practicality and performance of a similar car in its class – minus the tailpipe emissions.’

Nissan and its Alliance partner Renault are the only automakers committed to mass marketing pure electric vehicles on a global scale and together have announced production capacity of 500,000 units per year. To date, the Alliance has entered into more than 50 partnerships worldwide with countries, cities, organisations and other key stakeholders to prepare the markets and infrastructure for the successful adoption of EVs around the world.

North East leads drive for electric car infrastructure

Last December, Nissan and Regional Development Agency One North East signed a definitive agreement on zero emission mobility. The agreement includes the development of a regional network of charging points, supply of the Leaf to the region from early 2011 and a range of incentives for early adopters of electric vehicles, such as a period of free charging and use of dedicated EV lanes.

‘Leaf really is likely to be first affordable five seater electric car’

Like all electric cars, the Nissan Leaf will be expensive to purchase. In Britain, the company may sell you the car, but not the batteries. These may be leased for a monthly charge, which would reduce the sticker price. In Britain, this arrangement would have pretty spectacular results: if the complete car retails at around £18,000-£21,000 and you then take the up-front price of the batteries away, you’ve immediately lowered the price by around £5,000. And, then, of course, you have the government incentive which reduces the price further – by up to £5,000 – so you have a car which bears out Nissan’s claim that the Leaf will be the world’s first affordable five seater medium-sized EV. When you factor in the dramatic user cost-savings that apply to electric cars, you have a very attractive proposition.