North East in pole position to produce eco-car
Jul 21 2009 By Peter McCusker and Paul Loraine
NISSAN'S North East plant was emerging last night as the leading contender to become the first place in Europe to be a mass producer of electric cars.
The Japanese car giant unveiled plans yesterday to build a 120,000sqft plant for electric car batteries adjacent to its Washington factory as part of a £200m investment which will create 350 jobs.
And in October, the Sunderland plant is expected to learn if it will make Nissan’s new electric vehicles, although it still faces competition from rival plants in France and Spain which are also pressing for the work.
The plant would bring an extra 1,000 jobs to the North East if the Washington site is chosen, and Nissan’s senior vice-president for manufacturing, Europe, Trevor Mann, is confident of victory.
Mr Mann, who runs the Sunderland operation which already employs some 4,000 staff, said yesterday: "We have already proved that we are the most efficient plant in Europe.
"We have successfully shown on many occasions that we can cope with the launch of new models and I am hopeful we can secure this new work."
Nissan is set to unveil its new electric car at the Tokyo Motor Show in October and it is around this time that a final decision will be made on the location of the European plant to produce it.
The news came as Nissan confirmed plans to create hundreds of new jobs in a £200m investment in Sunderland to build batteries for electric cars.
The rechargeable lithium-ion battery plant – which will be known as Nissan’s European Centre of Excellence for Battery Manufacturing – has to go through the planning process and, if approved, it is scheduled for opening in 2012.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson yesterday visited the plant to hear the news and also unveiled details of a £10m scheme which will make South Tyneside and East Durham a Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA).
The announcement was hailed as a major boost for the region and follows the launch of The Journal’s Great North Revolution campaign. It is focused on helping the region to develop an economy fit for the 21st century by spearheading a second "Industrial Revolution", focused on specific sectors, including low-carbon transport.
