Nissan in talks to boost its UK plant as Renault haggling continues

By Albertina Torsoli
 

Nissan Motor Co. is in discussions with the UK government about making additional investments in its plant in Sunderland in a rare potentially positive development for automaking in the country. 
 

The plant has “a lot of good potential,”  Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida said during a virtual keynote at the FT Future of the Car Summit on Wednesday. Sunderland, the UK’s biggest auto factory which makes the Nissan Qashqai and Juke crossovers, is a key site for Nissan and it’s “in a good position for the future.” 

The UK has been struggling to attract investment from the auto industry in the aftermath of Brexit. Efforts to establish a battery supply-chain have largely foundered with local hopeful Britishvolt Ltd. entering administration. Nissan has remained a bright spot with a commitment in 2021 to invest £1 billion to create a UK EV hub. 

Elsewhere, Nissan is moving ahead with plans to develop a solid-state battery, which it expects to be able to bring to market in 2028. A pilot plant will start for the “game changer technology” will start operations next year. On Tuesday, Taiwanese battery maker ProLogium Technology Co. picked France to invest as much as €5.2 billion ($5.7 billion) in a factory that will produce solid-state batteries. 

Renault Talks

Separately, Uchida also addressed talks to finalize an agreement with partner Renault SA to renew their long-standing alliance as well as a decision on investing in the French company’s EV business. In February, the partners, which includes junior alliance partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said the framework deal would be finalized by the first quarter. 

The partners are still ironing out the finer points of the deal, Uchida said.

“We need to make sure all the details are very solid,” he said. “To be very honest, it was not easy for the past and it will not be easy for the future,” given challenges ahead in various markets. 

“Intensive” discussions on Nissan’s plan to invest in a stake of as much as 15% in Renault’s electric-vehicle arm Ampere, currently being carved out, also are still “ongoing,” Uchida said. Renault is targeting an initial public offering of Ampere as soon as late this year.

Renault CEO Luca de Meo also spoke at the event in London Wednesday, flagging that the joint collaborations with Nissan are working well and will help with finalizing the rebalancing deal.