The conglomerate announced Wednesday that India’s Tata Sons intends to construct a 4-billion-pound ($5.2 billion) electric car battery factory in the United Kingdom. When it starts producing battery cells in 2026, the facility is anticipated to grow to be among the biggest in Europe.
The new facility, the largest investment in the UK automotive sector in decades, will reportedly generate 4,000 direct jobs and thousands more through supply networks, according to the British government.
According to Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, the plant is planned to manufacture enough battery cells per year to power half of the U.K.’s electric vehicle fleet.
Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said, “Our multibillion-pound investment will bring cutting-edge technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, with our own business, JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) at its core.”
Along with JLR, the new plant will supply batteries to other companies.
According to reports, the British government offered the industrial behemoth considerable financial incentives in exchange for its investment, but officials refrained from commenting because the matter was considered to be of a sensitive commercial nature.
The owner of the Vauxhall, Peugeot, and other European auto manufacturers Stellantis warned in May that the Brexit deal’s changes to trade relations would make it difficult for the UK to produce electric vehicles.
The automaker informed Parliament in a letter that 10% tariffs would apply to the sale of electric vehicles to Europe and that it was crucial to “reinforce the competitiveness of the U.K. by establishing battery production.”
