The new Nissan Leaf as imagined by Autocar. The model has been previewed by the brand’s Chill Out concept
In a bid to combat that, Nissan is ramping up efforts to source renewable energy locally. Currently, 20% of the factory’s energy usage – which totals around 350MWh a week – comes from on-site wind and solar farms. The firm wants to boost this to 100%, but has not given a timeframe for achieving that.
Asked why Nissan chose to stick with Sunderland in light of the increased costs, Johnson said: “We are here. We’ve got an asset here. That’s not just facilities. That’s also the people. Therefore, it is in our interest to get the best out of the assets that we have.”
He added that although the government did not contribute to the latest £2bn plant funding package – instead it was funded by Nissan and its partners – some financial support from Westminster had been received, which has “helped get these projects over the line”.
