2023-11-24 17:49:32
Nissan wants to regain control of electric vehicles in Europe. The Japanese manufacturer announced this Friday that it wanted to inject up to 1.29 billion euros to build two new models of electric cars in its factory in Sunderland, United Kingdom. The car giant adds that an additional gigafactory of batteries and other investments in infrastructure projects, will result in an investment which could reach 2 billion pounds in total.
Nissan specified that this investment concerns both a broader supply chain for research and development and a modernization of infrastructure for the manufacture of future vehicles. The manufacturer is planning electric versions of its Qashqai and Juke models and is also planning a new generation of its Leaf, an electric car released around ten years ago and already manufactured in Sunderland.
This announcement will give a boost to the automotive industry in the United Kingdom. “Nissan’s investment is a huge mark of confidence in the British automotive industry, which already contributes €81 billion per year to our economy,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately welcomed. It must be said that the British government has pulled out all the stops to win the prize. According to Nissan, it “awarded €17 million in funding for a €34 million Nissan-led collaborative project” in Cranfield, Bedfordshire.
Decline in the share of electric cars on the European market
“With electric versions of our main European models on the way, we are heading towards a new era for Nissan,” insisted the group’s general manager, Makoto Uchida.
Still, Nissan’s bet is far from won. The demand for thermal or electric vehicles in the European Union continues to increase. In October 2023, more than 850,000 new passenger cars were registered. An increase of 14.6% over twelve months, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers announced on November 21, 2023. But at the same time, the share of electric cars on the European market has indeed declined. It went from 21% to 14.8% from August to September 2023 then to 14.2% in October. Over the first ten months of the year, electric overtakes diesel on the European market (12%). Gasoline-powered cars remain far ahead with 33.4% of sales. Hybrids follow at 29%.
The slowdown in electric vehicles due to high purchasing costs despite aid or even the absence of terminals is already having consequences with manufacturers like Volkswagen or Fiat being forced to reduce their production. Especially since Chinese manufacturers are arriving on the European market with vehicles whose prices are ultra-competitive.
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