Nissan Leaf Electric Car to be Made in the UK

http://revengeoftheelectriccar.com/leaf-made-in-the-uk/

LEAF – Made in the UK
Published by P.G. Morgan on March 18, 2010 — 12:32 pm

Nissan Leaf Electric Car to be Made in the UK

“Japanese car manufacturer Nissan announced today that it would build its new energy efficient electric car, the Nissan Leaf, in the UK.

The decision represents an investment of some £420 million ($642 million) from Nissan in electric vehicles which will be spent in the UK.

The company had already made a pledge to invest around £178 million ($273 million) in a new manufacturing plant in Sunderland, in the north-east of England. The plant will be responsible for making the Nissan Leaf batteries, but with the investment more than doubling, the Sunderland factory will now produce the car in its entirety.”

Here is the full text of the entire article, in case the link goes bad:

http://gnews.com/business/Nissan-Leaf-Electric-Car-to-be-Made-in-the-UK-431891917865.html

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan announced today that it would build its new energy efficient electric car, the Nissan Leaf, in the UK.

The decision represents an investment of some £420 million ($642 million) from Nissan in electric vehicles which will be spent in the UK.

The company had already made a pledge to invest around £178 million ($273 million) in a new manufacturing plant in Sunderland, in the north-east of England. The plant will be responsible for making the Nissan Leaf batteries, but with the investment more than doubling, the Sunderland factory will now produce the car in its entirety.

The Nissan Leaf was a big feature of the Washington Auto Show last month, and the vehicle has been praised for its eco-friendly virtues. It won Green Car Journal’s 2010 Green Car Vision Award recently, for satisfying all the needs of a modern driver, whilst at the same time producing zero localised emissions and requiring no petrol.

Bringing the Nissan Leaf to the UK is “good news” for Sunderland according to Nissan’s European Senior Vice President Trevor Mann, as the agreement will safeguard 4,000 local jobs as well as creating an additional 350 jobs to manufacture the lithium ion batteries.

Government ministers backed the move by Nissan. Speaking to the BBC, Lord Mandelson said: “By working together we can achieve our aim of making the UK a world-leader in ultra-low carbon vehicles.”

When the Leaf begins production in 2013, the company plans to roll out 50,000 vehicles a year. Nissan is committed to new fuel efficient green cars, expecting the market to fill 10 per cent of the auto industry by 2020.

Companies news posted by Carla Windsor