Business secretary says clean automotive sector to be heart of industrial strategy; JLR reveals vision for UK electric car plant
Fri 25 November 2016
View all news
The Business Secretary Greg Clark has clearly signalled that making Britain a world-leading hub for electric and next-generation vehicles is to be placed at the heart of the Government's industrial strategy. Speaking at the same event, Ralf Speth, Chief Executive of Jaguar Land Rover, said that his company would like to build an electric car plant and a battery factory in Britain.
Greg Clark (reported in The Guardian) speaking at a meeting of political and automotive leaders from the Midlands at the University of Warwick said the automotive sector, particularly electric vehicles, driverless cars and battery storage, will be an “emblematic area of focus” and is going to be “one of the big features of the world and Britain’s industrial policy during the weeks, months and years ahead”.
The Government is expected to announce an outline of its industrial strategy in the next few weeks.
JLR's Ralph Speth said that the company plans to double its global workforce of 40,000 as it expands into EVs and battery technology.
He said: “We want to build our EVs (electric vehicles) in the West Midlands, in the home of our design and engineering. This is clear, it goes without saying. But there is a huge problem – we don’t currently have the capacity to produce them at scale nor at speed, the costs of doing business in the UK are high compared to other countries, and alongside the access to the right skills, energy infrastructure remains the single greatest challenge to Jaguar Land Rover.”
Speth said JLR needs the equivalent of four power stations and the “right legislative framework” to develop its electric car plans, and for the fledgling industry to flourish in the UK.
Speth added: “This is a race ladies and gentlemen, it’s really a race and either we win or we lose. The Government must be the enabler. Our opportunity is nothing less then to lead the world in smart cities, smart economy and smart mobility.”
In response, Greg Clark said: “This is a sector – and particularly the electric vehicles, connected autonomous vehicles, battery storage – that couldn’t be a more emblematic area of focus that the industrial strategy will back and enable.
“This is going to be one of the big features of the world and Britain’s industrial policy during the weeks, months and years ahead.
“The pace of this is quickening all the time and so is our commitment to it. This is a big moment, for a hugely important combination of sectors technologies and institutions.
About the industrial strategy Clark added: “It can’t be something that the Government announces to an unsuspecting world, it has to be done together. It is certainly not a laissez-faire strategy, it is not ‘over to you’, this is a partnership, and that is the strategic intent.”
Related Links
< Back to news list