Nissan unit scraps plan to make EV powertrains in UK: Nikkei

Published Sun, May 24, 2026 · 08:24 PM

[TOKYO] Nissan Motor subsidiary Jatco has scrapped its plan to make electric vehicle powertrains in Sunderland, Britain, in the light of sluggish demand for Nissan’s EVs in Europe, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday (May 24).

In January 2025, Jatco announced a plan to invest £48.7 million (S$83.5 million) to make up to 340,000 units a year of EV powertrains that integrate the motor, inverter and reducer at a Sunderland plant for Nissan.

Later that year, however, Nissan, badly damaged by weakening sales in the US and China, said it will cut the number of its auto production plants to 10 from 17 and conduct a review of its powertrain factories.

No one was immediately available for comment at Nissan outside regular business hours, and a query submitted via Jatco’s website has yet to receive a response.

Separately, Mercedes-Benz said on Friday that it plans to roll out its urban point-to-point assisted driving system in Germany from the end of this year, aiming to be among the first carmakers offering the technology in Europe.

The plans are part of a race to bring self-driving features to European city streets, with rivals BMW and Tesla pursuing roll-outs of similar technology in the region.

Mercedes’ system is to be available in select German cities from the end of 2026 before expanding nationwide from early 2027, chief technology officer Joerg Burzer announced in a LinkedIn post after a meeting at the transport ministry in Berlin.

“Our goal is clear: We want to remain at the forefront of the global competition in assisted and automated driving,” he wrote.

US EV maker Tesla is currently chasing acceptance of its supervised “full self-driving” product across the EU, after early approvals in the Netherlands and Lithuania.

BMW plans to bring its own urban automated driving system to Germany at the end of the year, a company spokesperson said. REUTERS