Nissan kickstarts Leaf production in Sunderland following £450m investment

Nissan has announced that the new third-generation Leaf has gone into production at its Sunderland Plant, UK, supported by a £450m investment.

The investment is to assist the production of the electric SUV, which includes 78 new high-tech robots in the paint shop, 475 automated guided vehicles to deliver parts, upgraded factory technology with virtual reality and digital mapping, as well as more than 360,000 hours of team training to build the new car.

The Leaf’s production will also kickstart Nissan’s ‘EV36Zero’ vision project, which includes building electric versions of the Qashqai and Juke crossovers, a £3bn investment in three gigafactories for battery production and a fully-sustainable electric microgrid to help cut down on the firm’s carbon footprint in manufacturing processes.

Adam Pennick, vice president of manufacturing at Nissan’s Sunderland plant, said: “Nissan has invested into our state-of-the-art plant to build EVs of the future and there is huge pride and excitement in our team to be building this brilliant car in Sunderland.

“The skills, expertise and team-work of our people have powered Sunderland’s success, and the transformation of our plant for the new Leaf demonstrates our leadership in the journey to electrification.”

The new Leaf is available with a choice of 52kWh and 75kWh battery packs, which deliver claimed ranges of up to 271 miles and 386 miles, respectively.

The third-generation Nissan Leaf is available to order now and is eligible for the government’s full £3,750 Electric Car Grant, with prices starting at £32,249 and rising to £36,249.