Scots experts to lead charge for electric cars

The Japanese car giant plans to start production of its new electric car – the Leaf – in 2013 as part of a 420 million investment in zero-carbon emission technology.

Nissan claims the Leaf will be the world's first affordable mass-produced zero-emission car. And about 50,000 of the revolutionary cars are expected to roll off the production line in Sunderland each year, protecting hundreds of jobs on Wearside.

The investment is being supported by a 20.7 million government grant and a proposed finance package from the European Investment Bank of up to 198 million.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed yesterday that Aberdeen University's Centre for Transport Research is to test the likely consumer demand for cars which run purely on electricity and hybrid vehicles which use a combination of plug-in batteries and fuel.

Their findings are likely to be used to help shape future government policy and industry investment in the development of plug-in vehicles.

Nissan's announcement was welcomed by Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary. He said: "This investment is a fantastic vote of confidence in the Sunderland plant and its excellent workforce.

"The automotive sector is of key importance to the UK. It supports R&D, technological innovation, skills and a supply chain that's a mainstay of the wider manufacturing sector.

"Today's news from Nissan, with support from government, shows that by working together we can achieve our aim of making the UK a world-leader in ultra-low carbon vehicles."

Andy Palmer, senior vice president at Nissan, said: "The world is at the dawn of a new era in automotive transport.

"Nissan Leaf, which will go on sale later this year, is a five-seater hatchback that offers the same space, practicality and performance of a similar car in its class – minus the tailpipe emissions.

"Thanks to the UK's firm commitment to a low-carbon future in terms of infrastructure, customer incentives and educational programmes, Nissan Leaf will be built at Sunderland, making the UK the third country in the world to produce this revolutionary car."

The Aberdeen study has been commissioned by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI), a company formed by the government and a number of leading companies – including oil giants Shell and BP – to champion projects and partnerships that create affordable, reliable, clean energy for heat, power and transport.

Dr Jillian Anable, who is leading the study, said the research team would be setting out to discover how much money people would be willing to pay for eco friendly vehicles, how it would fit into their current travel patterns and investigating "potential consumer anxiety" about the new transport technology.

The researchers will also be trying to identify the types of people who are most likely to be first in line to buy electric vehicles.

Dr Anable said: "Identifying the key factors which will influence consumers to purchase electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be crucial to successfully rolling out the concept to the wider market. Our research will focus on building a profile of the types of people who would buy this kind of vehicle.

"The practicalities of using an electric vehicle will be explored looking at, for example, how long people are willing to wait for the vehicle to charge and whether they are most likely to charge them at home, at the supermarket or at work."