Nissan to make new electric cars, batteries in Britain

Japanese carmaker Nissan and its partners plan to invest 1 billion ($1.4 billion) pounds to expand production of electric vehicles and batteries in northeast England, a major victory for the U.K. government’s efforts to attract jobs and investment following the country’s departure from the European Union.

Nissan said Thursday it will build a new all-electric crossover sport utility vehicle at the company’s plant in Sunderland, creating more than 6,200 jobs at the factory and its suppliers. As part of the project, Envision AESC will build the U.K.’s first “gigafactory” to supply next generation batteries for the cars.