Nissan says: we're in the UK for the long term

The logo of Nissan is seen on a car ahead of a news conference at Nissan's Sunderland plant in Sunderland, Britain, July 1, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble/Files

SUNDERLAND, England (Reuters) - Nissan said on Thursday that a $1.4 billion investment in a new electric vehicle and battery plant in northern England showed that the Japanese carmaker was dedicated to Britain for at least the next decade.

"We are choosing Sunderland, so it is showing the trust that the company, that the government, that our partner, have with the plant," Guillaume Cartier, Nissan chairman for Africa, Middle East, India, Europe & Oceania, told Reuters.

"This is not one shot, this is not one car, this is the plan and this is for 10 years' engagement," he said.

Asked about a global chip shortage that is hitting the auto industry, Cartier said the British plant, which makes Nissan's Qashqai, had more orders than it could fulfill at the moment due to the chip shortage but that he expected the situation to improve within months.

"I believe that post summer we will be back to normal," Cartier said.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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