Nissan LEAF

Nissan has now announced that the Nissan LEAF will be manufactured at the Sunderland, UK plant. The production is expected to begin early in 2010, and the initial annual production capacity in Sunderland will be about 50,000 units. This is part of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd’s commitment to zero emission leadership.

The Nissan LEAF will be the first in a range of upcoming Nissan electrical vehicles, which are all set to be the first affordable and mass-produced zero-emission cars. The vehicles themselves are part of Nissan’s vision for an environmentally sustainable future for road transportation.

The construction of the company’s advanced lithium-ion battery plant, which was announced last year, will begin this April, Nissan said. The facility will be at Sunderland, and will have a production capacity of 60,000 units annually. The batteries will be manufacturer 2010 onwards for not just Nissan but also for the Alliance partner Renault.

The production of the Nissan LEAF and the batteries means a total investment of more than 420 million GBP – 468.2 million Euros, in the Sunderland plant. Around 2,2,50 jobs will be opened at Nissan, and across the UK supply chain. The investment and workforce are expected to bring in confidence.