Nissan Sunderland has produced its quarter-of-a-millionth electric car

Nissan’s British car plant in Sunderland has reached a new milestone and officially produced its 250,000th electric car.

A quarter of a million Leaf EVs have come off the assembly line at the plant in the northeast, which also produces the Qashqai and Juke SUVs.

To celebrate this milestone, the Japanese brand is using its 250,000th electric vehicle as the sole power source for its Christmas decorations at the entrance to its manufacturing site in the northeast, with a Leaf attached to tree lights to power them.

The Nissan Leaf has been built in Sunderland for nearly a decade in two generations of vehicles.

Like many of the latest electric cars on the market, the current Leaf features vehicle-to-grid – or V2X – technology, meaning it could become a mobile power source for household products.

Demonstrating the capabilities of this potential is the 250,000th leaf built in Britain, powering the 32-foot Christmas tree and its glittering reindeer.

The Leaf has vehicle-to-grid – or V2X – technology, meaning it could become a mobile power supply for household products

The capabilities of this potential are demonstrated by the 250,000th Leaf built in Britain, powering the 32-foot Christmas tree and its glittering reindeer.

Nissan began building the Leaf EV at its Sunderland plant in 2013. The model produced there today is the second generation car

The V2X system allows drivers to use the electricity stored in their vehicle’s battery to power a variety of appliances, including a fridge-freezer, laptops and kettles when needed.

Using a three-prong plug converter that fits into the charging socket, drivers can charge the battery of a range of appliances and white goods as needed.

Why the price of many electric cars built and sold in the UK will RISE by 10% from 2024

BloombergNEF estimated that electric SUVs will be cheaper to produce than petrol and diesel equivalents by 2026, while battery superminis will be cheaper from next year

Many electric vehicles made and sold in the UK and Europe will become more expensive from 2024, slowing price parity with petrol and diesel cars, it has been found.

Manufacturers of battery-only cars have warned they will have to raise prices by 10 percent or more in just over 12 months due to the introduction of trade tariffs.

It comes after Brussels said it has no intention of extending an exemption agreed in the Brexit trade deal that expires at the end of next year.

The technology also allows electric vehicles to be fully integrated into the electricity grid, meaning that excess energy can be returned to the grid at peak times.

Alan Johnson, Vice President of Manufacturing at Nissan Sunderland Plant, said: “Passing a quarter of a million Nissan Leaf is an amazing milestone and demonstrates the electric vehicle manufacturing expertise we have built up at our plant over the last decade .

“This year we fully electrified the factory line-up with the new versions of the Qashqai and Juke, so lighting up the Christmas tree with our original electric car is a spectacular and fitting way to close out 2022.”

In 2021, the Nissan plant in Sunderland was announced as the home of EV36ZERO, a £1bn flagship electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery manufacturing.

The construction of a battery gigafactory next to the car factory – in collaboration with Envision AESC – started this month.

The battery factory will employ more than 1,000 people when fully operational, which is likely to be around 2025.