Struggling car maker gets huge new upgrade at UK plant after confirming hundreds of jobs would be axed
ELECTRIC SHOCK Struggling car maker gets huge new upgrade at UK plant after confirming hundreds of jobs would be axed
A STRUGGLING car maker has been handed a massive new upgrade at a UK plant after it confirmed hundreds of jobs would be lost.
Nissan's plant in Sunderland has now gone live with its new electric truck charging station.
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Nissan's plant in Sunderland has now gone live with its new electric truck charging station
Credit: Getty
At the end of last month, the firm announced the job cuts after it reported £4 billion losses in the last financial year.
The facility, which cost £1.4million, is the first private, shared charging station of its kind in the UK.
It is expected to cut carbon emissions by around 1,500 tonnes a year.
Michael Simpson, vice president of supply chain management at Nissan AMIEO, said: "It is fantastic for our plant to be leading the charge to an electrified supply chain with this project.
"We welcome the support we've received from our partners to bring the charging station to life and we're proud of what we have achieved.
"The charging station looks brilliant and is a big step forward in Nissan's EV360 vision, which brings together electric vehicles, zero carbon energy and battery manufacturing."
The station is capable of supporting 60 UK eHGV deliveries to the plant every day and marks just the beginning of the plant's move towards electrifying its supply chain.
Mr Simpson added: 'We're exploring further opportunities to allow other hauliers to use the charging station as well as looking at other opportunities to maximise its full potential.'
The charging station can support a fleet of 25 trucks, with a charging capacity of up to 360kW.
The trucks will pick up parts from Nissan's UK supply base, going as far afield as Derby and also delivering finished vehicles to and from the Tyne port.
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That will mean more than 2.4million kilometres will be travelled every years, completely electrified and saving 1,500 tonnes of CO2 each year.
The project is part of the Electric Freightway consortium, which involves Nissan, GRIDSERVE, Fergusons, Yusen, and BCA, and is aimed at accelerating the adoption of eHGVs and high-power charging infrastructure, The Northern Echo reports.
UK government minister for the future of roads Lilian Greenwood said: "We're working closely with the road freight sector to slash transport emissions, and our £200million zero emission HGV programme is helping businesses across the country to power the electrification of their fleets.
"It's great to see Nissan taking advantage of our scheme which is supporting high paid jobs and putting money in the pockets of working people – all part of delivering our Plan for Change."
The charging station forms a key part of Nissan's wider EV36Zero plan, which aims to integrate electric vehicle production, renewable energy, and battery manufacturing.
Daniel Kunkel, CEO of GRIDSERVE, said: "The decarbonisation of transport logistics is much stronger and reaches far wider when done in partnership.
"This is why, as leaders of the Electric Freightway consortium, we are so pleased to support this UK first with Nissan and their haulage partners.
"Depot charging is critical for the electrification of HGVs, going hand in hand with future public infrastructure developments.
"As a first shared usage site, this location is leading the way in sustainable freight logistics."
The news comes after the car manufacturer announced around 250 jobs from its Sunderland factory would be axed.
The jobs will be cut under a "voluntary leave scheme" letting employees choose to leave their roles with support from the company.
It comes just weeks after the Japanese firm announced the new Nissan Leaf would be made at the Sunderland site.
The job losses will hit non-manufacturing positions.
Nissan has announced the cuts amid a desperate bid to balance the books and support a global effort to become a more "resilient business."
The attempts to save the brand were ramped up after merger talks with Honda fell through.
Earlier this year the firm announced 20,000 job losses, seven factory closures and a pause on all post-2026 new car development.
The closures of seven of its factories would see the brand limited to just 10 sites.
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