Nissan expands EV production at UK Sunderland plant with GBP2 billion investment

Carmaker Nissan will ramp up electric vehicle production at its Sunderland plant in the UK by adding two more EV models for production, spending GBP2 billion on the expansion, the company said Nov. 24.

Nissan said the expansion would require a third gigafactory for battery production in addition to the existing factory owned by lithium-ion producer AESC and a second gigafactory already being built by AESC.

The total investment by Nissan in the current car production and expansion will amount to GBP3 billion. The Sunderland plant is the largest car plant in the UK.

Nissan said that all newly-built cars in Europe will be fully electric, and that it expects its passenger car line-up in Europe to be 100% electric by 2030.

EVs currently represent around 16% of Nissan's total sales in Europe, it said, part of a total electrified sales mix of 50%, which it expects to increase to 98% in the next three years.

The company is also aiming to launch EV models utilizing its proprietary all-solid-state batteries (ASSB) by 2028.

Nissan said that it expects ASSB to bring the cost of battery packs down to $75/kWh by 2028 and potentially as low as $65/kWh in the years that follow.

While demand for batteries is expected to increase, lithium prices however have been volatile. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed lithium carbonate spot prices at $20,000/mt CIF Europe Nov. 23, down $3,000/mt on-month while lithium hydroxide was assessed at $20,500/mt Nov 2, down $4,400/mt on-month.

According to UK's Society of Motor manufacturers and Traders, battery electric vehicle (BEV) uptake increased for the 42nd month in a row in October, by 20.1% year on year to 23,943 units. This amounted to a BEV market share of 15.6%, a rise from last year's 14.8%.

The UK government announced a new Investment Zone for North East England in the Autumn Statement Nov. 22 which will release GBP2 billion in funding for "Advanced Manufacturing" and "Green Industries".

"Nissan's investment is a massive vote of confidence in the UK's automotive industry, which already contributes a massive GBP71 billion a year to our economy," said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak following Nissan's announcement.