RECAP: How the day unfolded as Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Nissan's Sunderland plant after major £1bn investment

The new model will be a cross-over vehicle and Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said this month was the 35th anniversary of the plant building its first car, adding: “This is a £1 billion birthday present for all of my colleagues here.”

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “This fantastic investment by Nissan and Envision AESC represents a solemn commitment to the people of Sunderland, bringing further high-skilled jobs and turbocharging our plans to level up the North East.

“This is a huge step forward in our ambition to put the UK at the front of the global electric vehicle race, and further proof, if any was needed, that the UK remains one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive manufacturing.

“I am extremely proud that Nissan has not only reaffirmed its belief in Britain, but is doubling down on its long-standing commitment to our country.”

During his visit to the plant Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked much public money is the Government investing in the new Nissan plant.

He replied:

“There are ongoing discussions about ways we can support people who are going to bring fantastic green technology into this country.

“Obviously they’re confidential, but this is something that is a massive benefit to the UK economy.

“Nissan is going to be taking about 900 jobs alone in the battery giga factory, a further 750, plus thousands potentially in the supply chains.

“But what it’s also doing is helping to lengthen the lead of this country in green low-carbon technology.

“And by increasing the number of batteries we can make in the UK, increasing the number of electric vehicles we can make, all those economies of scale we’re going to need so that the price of EVs comes down and they become more affordable for families than petrol vehicles and certainly diesel vehicles, and that will happen I think far quicker than people are currently expecting.”

Details from when Boris Johnson was interviewed during his visit also show a focus on a question about whether the Government is going to offer more financial incentives so the UK can catch up with countries like Germany.

Mr Johnson said:

“We’ve got a billion pounds of investment here coming in from Nissan.

“This plant makes more electric vehicles than virtually anywhere else in Europe.

“It’s a fantastic vote of confidence in Sunderland, in the North East and this amazing workforce here.

“And I think it’s a very important step forward for our green industrial revolution.

“At the moment I’m driven in a variety of machines, most of which are still run on hydrocarbons.

“But I can tell you, we will be phasing it out as soon as we conveniently and economically can.

“What we must also do is make sure that we get value for money.

“And the great thing about this investment and the creation of this giga factory is, as I say, it’s going to drive down the cost of EVs not just for people who are currently buying them but so ordinary families can buy EVs as a matter of course.

“That will I think start happening in just a few years’ time.”

Downing Street has said Nissan’s plan for a new battery plant in the UK showed the car giant was taking advantage of the opportunities offered by Brexit.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said:

“Thanks to Brexit I think Nissan is moving forward to use Brexit as an opportunity.

“Nissan’s announcement today is a major vote of confidence in the UK and our highly-skilled workers in the North East.

“It is a pivotal moment in our electric vehicle revolution securing its future for decades to come.”

The spokesman said that details of UK taxpayer support for the project will be made public once due diligence on the project was complete.

“We will review our support as the project develops and due diligence takes place.

“Then it is the standard practice after this details of the award will be in the public domain which is a normal procedure and part of the process of transparency,” the spokesman said.

The Prime Minister urged people to put the Brexit argument “behind them” when visiting Sunderland’s Nissan plant.

His comments centred on urging people to put Brexit fears to bed and said it was time for the UK to pull together.

Mr Johnson said: “I just think that we all need to put that argument behind us now and look forward to the future that this country and obviously I think those fears were wildly overdone.”

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