Nissan expected to announce new investment and jobs at Sunderland plant
Business Editor Joel Hills explains the impact of the new Nissan investment
Nissan is set to announce an investment in a battery facility at its Sunderland plant, making batteries for electric cars.
An announcement is expected on Thursday.
It is likely to create several thousand new jobs and would suggest that the company is making a long-term commitment to the site.
The government is understood to be committing public money to the project, to support the investment.
The manufacturer would not confirm the reports on Monday.<
A Nissan spokesman said: "Having established EV and battery production in the UK in 2013 for the Nissan Leaf, our Sunderland plant has played a pioneering role in developing the electric vehicle market.
Nissan opened its Sunderland factory in 1986 and it employs 7,000 people. The car maker's UK arm is the country's largest automobile manufacturer.
The company sold its battery subsidiary AESC to the Chinese firm Envision in 2018 but still has a minority stake in the business. Envision are the operators of the existing battery operation in Sunderland.