Nissan investment to boost EVs in UK?

Published: 02 July, 2021

The EV market in the UK got a major boost this week, with Nissan’s revealing it will build its new EV at its plant in Sunderland, with a battery plant in the plan too.

Nissan’s partner Envision AESC will be building the gigafactory, which will be able to provide batteries for up to 100,000 Nissan cars produced at the plant. The plant itself will create 750 new jobs and secure an existing 300 roles.

The new EV meanwhile will create 909 jobs, and it is estimated a further 4,500 in the supply chain. Nissan will be spending up to £423m to produce the new vehicle in Britain, following on from the success of its Leaf model. It is expected that the plant will be in full swing by 2024.

Earlier in the week, the SMMT released a report, ‘Full Throttle: Driving UK Automotive Competitiveness’ which described how government could deliver manufacturing competitiveness in the transition to net-zero and help ‘level-up’.At the same time, the report saw the automotive sector call for a ‘Build Back Better Fund’, 60 GWh of gigafactory capacity and 2.3 million charge points by 2030.

The report was launched at the automotive industry’s annual Summit on Tuesday (29 June). Speaking at the event, SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said: “The next few years represent a critical period for the sector. The pace of technological change is accelerating and the competition more ferocious. If we are to secure vehicle manufacturing in this country, with all the benefits to society that it brings, decisions need to be made today. The automotive sector is uniquely placed to help this government deliver on its agenda; to level up, deliver net zero and trade globally. The government has made clear its support for the sector in its negotiations with Europe, so now is the time to go full throttle and take bold action to support one of Britain’s most important industries.”

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This new facility is part of the RMI’s aim of addressing the skills shortage in the automotive industry by providing affordable training for garages on a more local basis.

Stuart James, RMI Director commented: “As the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars approaches, the lack of technicians skilled in hybrid and electric vehicle repair is one of the biggest threats to this plan. We would like to thank Mr McCartney for supporting our efforts in this step forward to provide the skills needed for technicians in the local community to repair the growing number of hybrid and electric vehicles on our roads.”

MP for Lincoln Karl McCartney added: “I am absolutely delighted to see a new training centre for automotive technicians opening within my constituency, offering as it does a wonderful opportunity for young people in our community to learn skills that will support them for the rest of their lives. But by partnering a fantastic long-standing local firm with a dedicated expert professional body, to focus on Hybrid and EV vehicle training, this particular centre also puts Lincoln at the cutting edge of technology.This will offer a double-whammy of opportunity for trainees and the sector as a whole, at a time when only around 5% of technicians in the UK are currently qualified to work on these vehicles.”

The new training site joins established facilities in Runcorn, Winchester and Southam, where a range of MOT and technical training courses are available.

For more information visit RMItrainingAcademy.co.uk
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