Britain’s government said the new factory, the largest
investment in the U.K. automotive industry in decades, will create 4,000 jobs
directly and thousands more in supply chains.
The plant is expected to produce about 40 gigawatt hours of
battery cells every year, enough to provide half the U.K.'s electric vehicle
batteries, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said.
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“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
(Jaguar Land Rover),” Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said.
The new plant will supply batteries to other brands as well
as JLR.
Britain’s government reportedly offered substantial financial
subsidies to attract the industrial giant to invest in the country, but
officials declined to comment, saying it was commercially sensitive
information.
Carmaker Stellantis, which owns Vauxhall, Peugeot and other
European car brands, warned in May that it would struggle to make electric cars
in the UK because of the changes to trading relations under the Brexit deal.
The carmaker wrote to Parliament that it would face 10%
tariffs when exporting electric vehicles to Europe, and said it was vital to “reinforce
the competitiveness of the U.K. by establishing battery production.”