Nissan will invest up to £2 billion to produce two new electric vehicle models in Sunderland.

The UK government said the investment will be used in infrastructure projects and the supply chain, including a new gigafactory.

This builds on a £1 billion electric vehicle hub announced by Nissan and its battery partner AESC in 2021 and brings total investment since 2021 to £3 billion.

The government said that the move, which will see the company develop the models under brand names Nissan Juke and Qashqai, means that Nissan has so far invested around £6 billion in the UK.

The car maker expects that all its cars sold in Europe will be fully electric by 2030.

The UK government added that it had confirmed £15 million funding for a £30m collaborative project led by Nissan. It said this will strengthen the technical expertise and R&D zero emission vehicle capability of the Nissan Technical Centre (NTCE) in Cranfield, Bedfordshire which will provide further opportunities for UK R&D investment in future vehicle models.

Commenting on the news Nissan president and chief executive Makoto Uchida said: “Exciting, electric vehicles are at the heart of our plans to achieve carbon neutrality. With electric versions of our core European models on the way, we are accelerating towards a new era for Nissan, for industry and for our customers.”

He added: “The EV36Zero project puts our Sunderland plant, Britain’s biggest ever car factory, at the heart of our future vision. It means our UK team will be designing, engineering and manufacturing the vehicles of the future, driving us towards an all-electric future for Nissan in Europe.”

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