Out-Law News 1 min. read
06 Mar 2012, 4:07 pm
The company presented its Invitation concept car at an industry event in Geneva on Tuesday. A production version of the car will be built at its plant in Sunderland next year.
Nissan is one of several car companies that have received conditional offers from the RGF, a £2.4 billion Government fund intended to support projects that will create jobs in areas of England that are dependent on the public sector. Although Nissan's bid has not yet been finalised the Government said that its offer had enabled the company to complete development work on the vehicle.
Speaking in Geneva, Business Secretary Vince Cable said that the investment would be a boost for jobs both at the Sunderland plant and throughout the wider supply chain.
"This latest announcement highlights the UK's track record of attracting inward investment. Global vehicle manufacturers are beating a path to the UK's door. They recognise that the Government values the automotive sector," he said.
Sunderland business Unipres UK, which supplies parts to Nissan, has received confirmation that it will receive £5m from the RGF towards a separate £36m project. Vantec Europe Ltd, which currently manages Nissan's warehouses, is in the final stages of an RGF bid that will allow them to expand capacity to accommodate the Invitation project.
Other car companies that have been successful in securing offers of Government funding include Lotus, Jaguar Land Rover, Pirelli, Getrag Ford and Aston Martin. Bentley, the luxury car manufacturer, has also received £1.69 million from the RGF towards a £4.5m project to train existing employees and take on new staff to support increased production, and is awaiting a decision on a second bid.
The RGF was set up in 2011 to provide additional funding to projects and programmes that require private sector investment to create sustainable jobs. It will pay out £2.4bn before 2015.
The fund is particularly aimed at areas and communities which have been traditionally dependent on the public sector to provide employment. The Government has so far conditionally allocated funding to 176 bidders who will invest over £7.5bn of private sector funding to deliver around 330,000 jobs across England.
A further £1bn funding has been made available for allocation before 13 June 2012, according to the RGF's website.
The new Nissan project will create an additional 400 jobs at the plant, taking its total number of employees to about 6,000, according to local paper the Sunderland Echo. Workers will also be involved in building Nissan's new electric car Leaf as well as the new Qashqai model.
