Sunderland-built crossover is set to benefit from new incentive – but UK boss denies rules were written for Nissan
The boss of Nissan has said the new, Sunderland-built Leaf is in "a very strong position" to benefit from the maximum £3750 Electric Car Grant (ECG) – and that the government was right to draw up rules that reward British manufacturing.
The ECG will be available on EVs that cost £37,000 or less and meet science-based targets for emissions, both from its maker and the country in which it is manufactured.
The grants will be banded at £1500 or £3750, depending on how closely a model meets those targets.
That means the new Leaf, with both the chassis and battery manufactured in Sunderland, is almost certain to be one of the only models to secure the maximum £3750 grant – prompting an insider at a rival firm to question whether the rules were drawn up by the government specifically to reward Nissan.
Asked about the grants, Nissan UK boss James Taylor told Autocar that the CO2 formula "should in theory put Leaf in a very strong position, because it's built in Sunderland".
Asked about suggestions the rules were written for Nissan, Taylor responded: "That's going a little bit far."
However, he added: “The ECG has echoes of the French grant scheme [which uses similar CO2-based emissions to determine eligibility a subsidy of up to €7000 (£6200)], which works very well in terms of that mechanism.
"Our battery plant is being built in Sunderland, and when full-scale production starts there next year, we will have British-assembled and -built batteries going into British-assembled and -built cars.
"Personally, I've always been a big believer in supporting 'UK PLC'Â to benefit the overall economy, business and jobs. And obviously in terms of these [ECG] rules, that is rewarding the low CO2 base you get if you produce both battery and car in the UK. So from that point of view, it's very welcome."
More broadly, Taylor said that the introduction of the ECG was "very welcome as an industry", adding that "we've been calling for support for some time, particularly for private motorists".Â
He added that early data showed that interest in EVs had "gone up four or five points in terms of share of interest, and any support to give a nudge to consumers to consider electric is going to be welcome, given you've got the zero-emission vehicle mandate, which is effectively a supply-based target, and today's demand isn't keeping track with the growth in what the supply mandate is".
