Nissan is to create 2,000 jobs with a new battery gigafactory in the North East of England, it is understood.

The UK’s biggest car manufacturer was expected to confirm the announcement later in the week.

The BBC reported that the Government was contributing towards the cost of setting up the battery plant on Wearside, where electric vehicles are already made.

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.

“As previously announced, we will continue to electrify our line-up as part of our global journey towards carbon neutrality, however we have no further plans to announce at this time.”

It was not clear how many jobs would be created if the gigafactory was built in Sunderland.

According to the BBC report it could create 2,000 new jobs directly, and thousands more indirectly.