Nissan to build electric versions of Qashqai, Juke in U.K., reports say

Nissan will announce on Friday that it will build the battery-electric successors to its Qashqai and Juke models at its plant in Sunderland, England, according to media reports.

Citing automotive industry sources, Sky News reported that Nissan would commit hundreds of millions of pounds to the project. While no upfront taxpayer money will be involved, the British government is expected to provide guarantees, the report added.

Nissan's investment expected to be worth more than 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion), the Financial Times separately reported, citing people briefed on the plans.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to visit the Sunderland factory on Friday for the announcement, which will be made by Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida, the FT said.

Nissan builds combustion engine Qashqai and Juke models at the factory, along with the Leaf full-electric car.

The company said in September that all new models it launches in Europe from now will be fully electric and it plans to sell only electric vehicles in the region by 2030.

A spokesperson for Nissan in Japan declined to comment on the reports.

The Sunderland site in the northeast of England is the U.K.'s biggest vehicle manufacturing facility, which emerged as a focal point during the fraught Brexit negotiations. Nissan had warned repeatedly that any tariffs affecting vehicles exported from the UK could jeopardize the site.

Nissan committed to a 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) investment in 2021 together with Chinese battery partner Envision AESC to upgrade the site into an EV hub to make more battery-powered models aside from the compact Leaf. The plan included setting up a large-scale battery plant at the site.

The move helps build further momentum in the U.K. car industry’s transition to making EVs. The country has fallen behind as carmakers including Toyota and BMW were put off making investments into their U.K. production during years of Brexit talks and stumbling industrial policy.

BMW in September unveiled a 600 million-pounds investment to build electric Mini models at its Oxford factory, and Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors announced plans for a 4 billion-pounds battery plant in Somerset in July. The moves, helped along by government funding, still leave the UK dependent on battery supply from abroad.

Competition is growing across Europe as Chinese EV makers like BYD, Nio, Zeekr and Great Wall roll out new models.

Under current post-Brexit arrangements, EVs moving between the U.K. and the European Union will attract a 10 percent tariff starting next year if less than 45 percent of their value comes from the region.

A European lobby representing carmakers including Volkswagen and Renault has warned the duties could cost the sector 4.3 billion euros ($4.7 billion) over the next three years. Talks are ongoing about a possible delay to the rules.

Bloomberg contributed to this report