Jaguar Land Rover to build huge car battery plant in triumph for Britain in major boost for UK’s motor industry

Britain is about to win the race to build a flagship battery factory for the owner of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover.

In what is seen as a major boost to the UK car industry, Tata Group bosses are said to have chosen a site in Somerset over a competing site in Spain.

The deal for the so-called gigafactory, expected to be announced this week, will be the most significant investment in the UK car industry since Nissan came to Sunderland in the 1980s.

Tata’s new site in Somerset will be the UK’s second gigafactory-scale battery factory, alongside the Envision factory in Sunderland, which supplies Nissan.

Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour’s shadow affairs minister, said the decision “shows the strength of the UK car industry”. But he claimed Labor would go further by investing in eight gigafactories by 2030.

Labor MP Darren Jones, chairman of the cross-party Business and Trade Committee, said JLR’s investment in UK battery production was ‘very welcome’ – although he questioned how much support Indian conglomerate Tata will get from UK taxpayers.

It was previously reported that up to £500 million in government grants could be turned in to help Tata build the site close to the M5 motorway in Bridgwater and cover future energy costs.

Tata and the Business Department both declined to comment due to the “commercial sensitivity” of the deal.

Conservative MP Simon Clarke said on social media it was a “huge statement of intent about our commitment to the motor industry”.

In what is seen as a major boost to the UK car industry, Tata Group bosses are said to have chosen a site in Somerset over a competing site in Spain (File image)

Mike Hawes, CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers, says the gigafactory is a ‘blow in the arm for the UK car industry, our economy and UK manufacturing jobs’.

He continued: “It comes at a critical time as the global industry moves rapidly towards electrification. Producing batteries in the UK is essential if we are to anchor wider vehicle production here for the long term.

“We now need to build on this announcement by promoting the UK’s strengths abroad, ensure we remain competitive under intense global pressures and do more to scale up our EV supply chain.”

Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), said: ‘Building this battery factory is vital if the UK’s car industry is to move with the times, employ tens of thousands of people and make billions in generate export income.

And that’s what the public wants. 53 per cent of those polled by the ECIU support the £500 million package the government has offered to enable its construction in the UK, with only 27 per cent opposed.

“After all, renewable energy and clean technology are the sectors that the public believes have the best potential for long-term growth for the UK economy.”