The Nissan Leaf rolled silently off the production line today, helping to safeguard jobs across the UK, and the third generation of the world’s first mass market electric car will be made at a rate of one car every minute in Sunderland
The latest model of the world’s first mass market electric vehicle rolled silently off the production line today – helping to safeguard almost 40,000 jobs across the UK.
The third generation Nissan LEAF will be manufactured at a rate of one car every minute at its plant in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.
It is thanks to a £450m investment which workers hope will secure their future for years to come. They spoke as the Government revealed plans to create up to 2,000 new jobs on top of the 7,000 across Nissan UK, and the 30,000 in their supply chain.
The Mirror was given a tour of the Sunderland production line where Jamie Williams, 36, a senior supervisor, told how important it was to his hometown and the car giant’s workforce in London, Rickmansworth, Herts., and Cranfield, Beds.
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“My dad worked here and now I am part of making the latest model,” he said. “It is a pleasure and an honour; we know what this means for tens of thousands of people who work in the supply chain.”
Guy Reid, 46, of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, a production engineering director who has worked at Nissan for 22 years, relies on a supply line which takes delivery of millions of parts every day.
“We have a pride in everything we do, we know the impact of this new model throughout the country,” he said. “Days like this make you realise just how important it is.”
Tyneside-based Jess Brown, 38, a logistics section manager, joined Nissan when the first Leaf was produced back in 2013; she told how many of the workforce had family members who worked alongside them or for suppliers.
“Getting the new model here was huge as there are so many other jobs created in the battery gigaplant and other suppliers,” she said. “It offers security for all those people in all those jobs.”
The Mirror watched as swarms of workmen huddled around the shells of the car to carry out checks. A ‘shower test’ at the end makes sure that everything is water tight.
The dashboards are placed in position in a matter of seconds. A manufacturer based over the road from the plant supplies the batteries which are fitted into each car.
New technology means the £32,000 LEAF has a range of up to 386 miles for the 75 kWh battery, or 271 miles for the 52 kWh battery; the charging time for the 273 mile range is 30 mins for a 75 kWh version, they do 4.5 miles per kWh, with a maximum speed of 100mph.
Max Messina, Nissan’s Chair in Europe, described it as a momentous day. “It is an incredible moment,” he said. “You can see what can happen when people experience innovation. LEAF is an icon, the world’s first mass market electric vehicle. From day one it was designed to break down the barriers to electric driving.
“We have sold 700,000 worldwide and avoided two billion kgs of CO2 emissions; they are smart, sleek, original. The all-new leaf will set a stage for Nissan’s next chapter.”
Production of the ‘EV36Zero’ model involves virtual reality and digital mapping of the plant, 78 new high-tech robots in the Body Shop, and a fully automated laser welding facility.
There are also 475 new automated guided vehicles to deliver parts direct to the production line. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle described the latest investment as a “huge vote of confidence in our economy.”
The Government’s new Electric Vehicle Cluster Fund will help companies transition to the production of parts for electric vehicles. North East Mayor Kim McGuinness is providing £22m of funding to install EV charging points, and plans to double the region’s electric bus fleet over the next six months.
Adam Pennick, Nissan vice president for manufacturing, said the plant had produced almost 12m vehicles since the first Nissan Bluebird in 1986. He thanked their partners and paid tribute to the workforce, and their hard work and dedication over almost 40 years.
