Summary: We are announcing up to £1 billion funding for the next generation of cutting-edge automotive technologies, cementing the UK’s position as a world leader in transport technology and innovation.
- We know the UK’s automotive industry is facing unprecedented change and we must support it to stay at the forefront of new greener and more reliable technologies.
- We will support the development of UK supply chains for the large-scale production of electric vehicles, by accelerating the mass production of key technologies such as batteries, electric motors and hydrogen fuel cells.
- These investments will help power us towards our net zero emissions by 2050 target, leaving our environment in a better state for the next generation.
Background
- The UK must cement our position as a world leader in transport technology and innovation, creating high-skilled jobs all around the country. As demand for electric vehicles increases, we have the opportunity to make the UK a world leader in the manufacturing of batteries. Electric vehicle battery production is forecast to soar in the UK and by 2040 we could be responsible for 11 per cent of all European battery production.
Our solution
- Providing up to £1 billion to support significant private sector investment in the next generation of automotive manufacturing in the UK. The fund will scale up cutting edge British technology to encourage investment in manufacturing and high value automotive components, such as battery cells, as well as other clean transport technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, motors, drives and power electronics.
- Working towards the UK’s first ever ‘Gigafactory’, a large-scale battery technology factory for electric vehicles, keeping the UK at the forefront of the very latest technologies. We are investing in the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry – a crucial step in developing a Gigafactory, a large-scale battery technology factory for electric vehicles and recommitting to the UK’s desire to attract major investments in UK battery manufacturing operations.
Conservative record
- Automotive businesses are investing 190 per cent more in R&D than they were under Labour. In 2010, automotive investment in business R&D was £1.2 billion. By 2017, it had reached £3.6 billion.
Q: But what effect will Brexit have on this policy?
A: The automotive industry across the world is experiencing a huge change, as more and more people make the switch to an electric vehicle. That’s precisely why we are announcing this funding, to support automotive firms in the UK adapt to the change, and to ensure that UK is able to be at the forefront of new, clean technologies.
