Automotive News – Late January 2025
Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Car manufacturing giant Nissan, and the Japan Automatic Transmission Company (JATCO) have secured a £50 million investment deal in partnership with the government to create a new manufacturing plant in Sunderland.
The new site will help create 183 new high-value jobs in the region and support over 400 in the wider supply chain. It will also establish JATCO’s first and only European plant and will produce 3-in-1 electric vehicle powertrains for Nissan’s neighbouring Sunderland plant.
Nissan is one of the largest UK-based vehicle manufacturers, employing around 6000 people across its Sunderland facilities, and today’s announcement builds on their £2 billion investment in the region in 2023 to build electric vehicles.
Supplier Aegis Energy has secured £100m in investment to construct a “multi-energy” charging and refuelling facility for low-carbon and zero-emissions commercial vans and trucks, with more than 30 hubs set to be delivered by 2030. Today (20 January), Aegis Energy has secured commitments of £100m from Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (Quinbrook). The funding will support the construction of what it claims is a UK first—a multi-energy facility to refuel and recharge commercial vehicles
The UK is largely expected to hit 2035’s predicted production volumes, specifically zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) production, a new analysis shows.
According to the latest Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) quarterly demand report, with legislation looming to ban the sale of fossil-fuel internal combustion engines (ICE) in the UK by 2035, the demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will increase.
However, while the forecast maintains previously reported 2035 figures, the increase in demand will be slower than previously anticipated, with global forecasts for 2027 and 2030 reducing by 14% and 12% respectively. In the short term, the demand for electric hybrids is where we will see increased growth, especially in Europe, but this will eventually give way to an increased appetite from consumers for BEVs. This increase indicates the importance of new investment with the development of battery-cell chemistries continuing at pace.
Car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has lodged plans for the extension of its Wolverhampton works as part of moves to ramp up electric vehicle production.
The proposals lodged by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) would see an extension to the existing manufacturing plant to provide additional industrial floorspace together with a scheme of additional landscaping works.
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc (JLR) has revealed record third quarter financial results for the period up until December 31, 2024. It described trading as a “robust third quarter” with record revenues, the highest EBIT margin in a decade and a ninth successive profitable quarter.
Revenue in Q3 was £7.5bn, up 2% versus Q3 FY24, while year to date (YTD) revenue at £21.2bn was flat year‑on‑year. Compared with the prior quarter, revenue was up 16%, driven by higher wholesales following supply disruptions in the second quarter of FY25. Profit before tax and exceptional items in the quarter was £523m, down from £627m a year ago, while YTD profit before tax was £1.6bn, up 7% year on year and the best Q3 YTD pre-tax profit in a decade. EBIT margin was 9%, up 0.2 percentage points compared with Q3 FY24 and the best Q3 EBIT margin in a decade
