Jaguar Land Rover-owner announces new £4billion factory in biggest investment in UK car industry for 40 years
The owner of Jaguar Land Rover is set to build a new factory in Somerset
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Britain has been chosen as the home for a new £4 billion battery factory by the owners of Jaguar Land Rover.
Indian firm Tata Sons has announced its new plant will become one of Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturing sites when it starts producing in 2026.
The new factory will create 4,000 new jobs and produce about 40 gigawatt hours of battery cells every year.
The Government said that is enough to provide about half the battery production the UK will need by 2030 according to the Faraday Institution.
Grant Shapps hailed the investment as putting the UK 'in the fast lane of electric vehicle production'
GB News
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told GB News this morning: "This is the country's largest ever car production investment that we've ever seen.
"It really puts the UK in the fast lane of electric vehicle production and I'm very proud that we've brought that to the UK with all of the jobs it will bring."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added: “Tata Group’s decision to build their new gigafactory here in the UK – their first outside of India – is a huge vote of confidence in Britain. This will be one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector.
“It will not only create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons around the country, but it will also strengthen our lead in the global transition to electric vehicles, helping to grow our economy in clean industries of the future.”
The last comparable investment in the automotive sector was in 1983 when Nissan announced plans to open a factory in the UK.
The car battery factory is expected to be built near Bridgwater in Somerset, where it will have close access to the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, which is expected to open later this decade.
Tata is yet to confirm the location.
Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said: “Our multibillion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, JLR.”
Natarajan Chandrasekaran said the new factory would bring 'state-of-the-art technology' to the UK
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It is thought that a significant subsidy was provided by the Government in order to help persuade Tata to pick Britian for the new site.
The group reportedly considered a site in Spain as an alternative.
However, this morning Shapps refused to be drawn on how much money had been promised.
“The exact numbers on this will come out in the normal way. Because of the commercial sensitivities, they have to be released in the usual way,” he told GB News.