Nissan announces new EV factory in UK to produce new electric crossover

Nissan has announced a new EV manufacturing hub called EV36Zero in Sunderland, UK, to produce a new electric crossover.

The hub will also include its own battery factory, as previously reported.

Earlier this week, we reported on Nissan’s plan to build a new battery factory with AESC in Sunderland, where the Japanese automaker is already producing the Leaf.

Now the automaker has announced the official plans for what it is calling EV36Zero, and it will be more than a battery factory.

On top of the plan to build a battery factory with at least 9 GWh annual capacity in partnership with AESC, Nissan plans to build a “new-generation all-electric crossover” at the new “EV hub”:

“As part of the £1 billion announcement, Nissan will invest up to £423 million to produce a new-generation all-electric vehicle in the UK. Building on Nissan’s expertise in crossovers and the worldwide success of the Nissan LEAF, it promises next-generation vehicle styling, efficiency and battery technology, making the switch to electric driving even more accessible.”

Nissan released this teaser image of the new vehicle:

The automaker is talking about a production capacity of “up to 100,000 units” per year.

The capacity will not just be for the UK. Nissan says that it plans to export to other European markets:

“Designed for global markets, UK production will be exported to the European markets traditionally served by Nissan’s Sunderland plant. The new crossover will be built on the Alliance CMF-EV platform, with a forecasted production capacity of up to 100,000 units to be installed.”

The Japanese automaker confirmed that the new electric crossover will also be built at other locations.

Nissan president and chief executive officer Makoto Uchida commented on the announcement:

“This project comes as part of Nissan’s pioneering efforts to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire lifecycle of our products. Our comprehensive approach includes not only the development and production of EVs, but also the use of on-board batteries as energy storage and their reuse for secondary purposes.”

Nissan and AESC have also released more information about the planned battery gigafactory at the site.

While it will have an initial capacity of 9 GWh per year, Nissan is talking about ramping things to potentially 35 GWh per year:

“The formal planning process is about to begin for the new gigafactory, which represents an initial 9GWh plant, with potential future-phase investment of £1.8bn by Envision AESC, generating up to 25GWh and creating 4,500 new high-value green jobs in the region by 2030, with potential on site for up to 35GWh. The new plant will increase the cost-competitiveness of EV batteries produced in the UK, including through a new Gen5 battery cell with 30% more energy density which improves range and efficiency. This commitment will power Nissan’s new vehicles, supporting the continued localization of vehicle parts and components with advanced technology. This will make batteries cheaper and EVs more accessible to a growing number of customers in the future.”

The initial production is expected to start in 2024.

Nissan also confirmed plans to aim for the new EV hub to be completely powered by renewable energy with the expansion of its exiting wind and solar farm as well as new energy storage capacity on site.