Region hopes to generate electric cars and jobs

Jun 24 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

THE North East has entered into a multi-million pound gamble in a bid to convince Nissan it is the ideal place to build electric cars.

Tyneside was yesterday introduced to electric cars bought from a £10m fund set up to help roll-out charging points throughout the region.

Spending bosses from regeneration agencies, Government departments and leading manufacturers have provided the cash in an attempt to turn the North East into Europe’s leading producer of electric cars.

Nissan has refused to say where they will build the next generation of eco-friendly cars despite being a part of the regional consortium.

It’s made up of One North East, Newcastle University, Washington-based Tanfield Engineering’s Smith Electric Vehicles, the taxi manufacturer LTI Vehicles, Ford, AVID Vehicles of Cramlington, Liberty Electric Cars of Oxford and Nissan.

Nissan has already been paid to supply 15 electric cars, as part of a 35-car deal involving other companies in the consortium. It will be at least 2011 before Nissan makes a manufacturing decision that could see thousands of jobs secured and more created in the supply line.

Last night Blaydon MP Dave Anderson, who sits on the House of Commons Energy Select Committee, said the region had no choice but to “look to the future”, even if that meant spending money with no guarantees.

He said: “The electric vehicle industry will be huge and we cannot be left behind. I have met with people from the industry who say we are up against Spain and Portugal. And while we may not get this production in the first two years, we are strongly placed to eventually see production in Sunderland. Until then, we can concentrate on efforts to see us lead the world on introducing charging points, meaning there is nothing to stop people buying these cars.”

At the launch, backers admitted they were up against factories in Europe which would also be setting up charging points in similar bids to entice Nissan’s key decision makers. Spending bosses at development agency One North East have said they may have to tweak previous strict standards which see every pound spent justified by the amount it will definitely generate in the wider economy.

Chris Pywell, head of strategic economic change, said: “We have to get the balance right, have to be working on the future of the region, where we will go, as well as the here and now. It is really difficult at these times of economic downturn and pressure on budget, but it is equally important that we are in a strong position in the future upturn.”