Nissan's new LEAF powers tree to mark milestone moment

One of the first Nissan LEAFs to roll off the production line in Sunderland is bringing Christmas cheer to the city centre, by lighting up a Keel Square focal point. 

A brand-new next generation LEAF will power Keel Square's giant Christmas Tree today [Saturday, December 20] and tomorrow [Sunday, December 21], to celebrate the start of large-scale production of the EV at the Sunderland plant, which got underway earlier this week [Tuesday, December 16].

The branded LEAF visited the Stadium of Light to power its Christmas tree, before making its way to Keel Square in Riverside Sunderland to plug in to the city centre's festive spruce.  

The EV - which was made in Sunderland ahead of large-scale production of the model getting underway on Tuesday - spent Saturday touring the city to mark the milestone moment for Sunderland's Nissan plant.  It will power the tree using its new vehicle to grid capability. 

The all-new LEAFs being produced in Sunderland will reach the market in March 2026, building on the success of previous LEAF models.  More than 280,000 LEAFs have already been built on Wearside to date. 

Councillor Michael Mordey, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "It's fantastic to see the LEAF spreading some festive cheer across the city by powering focal points like the Christmas tree in Keel Square following its time at the Stadium of Light.  But, of course, the thing that delights me most is knowing that the production of the all-new LEAF at the Sunderland plant sustains many thousands of jobs in and around Sunderland over the coming months and years, which is something we can be rightly proud of.

"Nissan has such a huge impact on this city, creating jobs and opportunities for so many people in communities across Sunderland and the North East as a whole, so it's wonderful to celebrate the great news coming out of the plant here at the heart of our city centre at a time of year when community comes into special focus."

Lee Watson, Production Director, Nissan Sunderland Plant said: "We are always proud to see our Sunderland-built cars out on the roads. To have one bringing a bit of festive cheer to our home city is extra special."

Nissan began to manufacture the first generation LEAF in Sunderland from 2013.  It was announced in June that the third-generation model would be built at the Sunderland plant by the world-class team at Nissan.

The new Leaf is able to travel up to 375 miles (604km) on a single charge and is available for customers to order now.  It is powered by batteries from AESC UK which is opening a new gigafactory adjacent to the Nissan plant.  Together this is all part of Nissan's EV36Zero vision - a blueprint announced in July 2021 for the future of sustainable manufacturing that will transform the Sunderland plant into a flagship EV hub, bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production.  Sunderland City Council has been working in partnership with Nissan to make EV36Zero a reality and could not be prouder to see the all-new LEAF rolling off the production line this week.