Nissan to build e-car batteries in Blighty

Nissan is to start making lithium-ion batteries for its leccy cars in the UK. But today's announcement stopped short of guaranteeing that Nissan will start building e-cars here too. In a statement, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “Nissan's investment in a new battery plant and its hope to start producing electric vehicles …

[Martin Gregorie]

200 million for 350 jobs?

£200 million for 350 jobs is £572,000 per job. Geezus!

At the current average wage of £479 per week, that's almost 23 years wages. I bet the factory will be replaced with something else in well under that time, so why not simply give 350 people, say, £500 a week for the average life of a factory in the North-East. That should be just about within the government's competence and a sight cheaper too.

[Grant]

@Martin - Read twice write once.

"Nissan's investment in the Sunderland battery plant will amount to £200m"

The carpenters rule of measure twice cut once really should be applied to Reg readers.

[Eek]

@Martin

That £200m is not the government investment but Nissan's.

The government have been working on a £380m loan from the EU for nissan which would appear to be why sunderland got the work.

[Michael 82]

100 mile range!

only 100 mile range!?! I need 300 in an ideal world!

Mines the one with the Dr Fusion in the pocket!

[Peter Ford]

All the features customers have come to expect

.. 100 mile range ????

I want at least 300 miles on a charge, with a full load (2 adults, 3 kids, boot loaded, roof full of kayaks) before I consider an electric vehicle.

If they spent money on achieving that, rather than "unique design" and "premium amenities", then we might get somewhere.

I reckon if you put in a lump of batteries equivalent in weight to a small-block chevy motor, and get someone like James Dyson to sort out the smallest, lightest motors possible, we might be on to a winner...

[Francis Boyle]

Premium Amenities?

Zero-g toilet perhaps (one that doesn't break down)?

[Daniel 1]

Martin, Nissan is spending the £200m, not the government

No doubt HM govt will be adding its own dollop of grants and loan guarantees, but the £200m is Nissan's.

[Eponymous Cowherd]

All the features customers have come to expect.

"Unique Design".

Umm, no.

Not very important at all. And if "unique" = "Megane" then they can keep it.

"Compact car size".

Ummm, no.

I want a car that's big enough for a family of 4 plus luggage.

"Space for 5 people".

Yes.

"100 Mile range".

Ummm, no.

Way too short. 150 miles would be barely adaquate, 200 preferable.

"Advanced safety features".

You mean like every new fossil burner already has?

"Premium amenities".

Err, what's that then?

Air-con that will reduce the 100 mile range to more like 60 miles?

A heater that will do the same in the winter?

Or do they mean an ISS style techno-dunny under each seat?

So 1 out of 6, then. Sorry, but when they are groping for selling points *that* lame you *know* that the FAIL icon is justified.

[Martin 6]

A bargain

When compared to BAe or Westland jobs though.

[Jacqui]

My home town

I know a few people who work at the NIssan plant.

When it first opened they were ex shipbuilders or worked at some of the new dean engineering works that Maggie shut down (well before they china took the jobs). These folks were told to come in at 7;30am and were asked to go though a introduction course which included bowing to managers and each other, and morning exercises before work.

FWICR they still run morning exercise classes before early shift starts and people still turn up early to take them - people like the idea.

They also *like* thier management - who when told of a problem apologise and fix it - no excuses, blame games or backstabbing.

If the .gov.uk is going to give money to Uk based car plants then Nissan and Honda are the companies who threat thier staff well and run a modern effecient happy facility - they should get the moolah rather than waste it on dead behemoths such as LDV.

Jacqui

[copsewood]

Subsidies to globalisation

"... locations have been chosen as the result of financial assistance in the form of grants and loan guarantees from their respective governments."

Small businesses and individuals pay taxes, businesses big enough to be able to move capital and jobs to wherever taxes are low, subsidies are large and laws suit them don't. So political election candidates compete to do the bidding of our real masters. Politicians who won't play this game get booted out by mass media telling us to vote for someone who does.

[Grumpytom]

Return to sender

Now I am not sure of this but I guess EU law (which of course never appears on any manifesto I vote for) will prescribe the polluting waste i.e. dead batteries, is returned to the source.

Will this turn the north east, an area of staggering contrasts of beauty and industry into a reprocessing zone?

We'll leave the bad science and regressive products aside.

[Anonymous Coward]

awesome, now lets have them in the uk.

This is exactly the sort of news story that should be happening here in the U.S. The big three need to get the ball rolling on electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are safe, efficient, and clean. With a little more research, and a lot more commitment from the large automakers, electric cars become a very viable solution to reduce our oil consumptions, green house gas emissions, health care costs, and at the same time adding jobs and bolstering the economy. For more information about electric cars, their history (they’ve been around a long time, ask owners of the GM EV1 or RAV4-EV), and their advantages, check out the book “Two Cents Per Mile” by Nevres Cefo. The website for the book can be found at http://www.twocentspermile.com and you can read excerpts of it on Amazon at http://bit.ly/2centspermile