Nissan to build electric cars in UK - reports

Japan’s Nissan has committed to building electric versions of two of its best-selling cars in Sunderland, it was reported on Thursday, securing the future of one of the UK’s largest factories.

The automotive manufacturer is expected to announce on Friday that new Qashqai and Juke models will be built at the site, the UK’s largest car factory.

The north east plant has the capacity to make around 60,000 vehicles a year and employs around 6,000 people.

The investment will be worth more than £1bn, the Financial Times noted, citing unnamed sources.

The UK government will also provide financial backing, which could run into "hundreds of millions of pounds", the newspaper said.

Sky News said both prime minister Rishi Sunak and the chancellor Jeremy Hunt had been in involved in the discussions with Nissan.

Sunak is due to visit to plant on Friday.

So far, neither the government nor Nissan have commented on the reports.

Nissan already makes petrol models of the two cars at the plant alongside the electric Leaf. It first started producing electric Jukes and Qashqais there last year.

Its battery supplier - Chinese-owned AESC - has already said it plans to build a large-scale battery plant nearby.

On Wednesday, Hunt name checked Nissan in the Autumn statement as he announced £2bn of government support for investments in zero-emission technology.

Nissan has pledged to go all-electric in Europe by 2030. In September, it said it would continue with its plans, despite Sunak’s surprise decision to push back the ban on new petrol and diesel cars to 2035.