Batteries shortfall ‘jeopardises 160,000 jobs’

The Envision battery manufacturing plant for the Nissan Leaf car at Nissan's plant in Sunderland is the sort of facility that MPs are calling for

OLI SCARFF/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Up to 160,000 motor industry jobs and more in the supply chain are at risk unless the government resets its priorities in the production of batteries.

That is the conclusion of the Commons’ business select committee, which is calling on ministers to, belatedly, move beyond the rhetoric of Britain being a power in the future zero-emission motoring sector

In the MPs’ report, which was published overnight, there is a warning that as things stand, the UK has a “gigafactory gap”, with not enough installed or promised capacity to produce the batteries for electric cars that factories will need to assemble if Britain is to retain an automotive industry in a net-zero world.

“Right now, the UK is on course to secure barely half of the electric battery capacity needed by the domestic car industry alone,” Liam Byrne, the Labour chairman of the committee, said. “Unless we fix this fast, we risk the industry simply relocating to Europe or the US or becoming reliant on imports from China and elsewhere.

“That imperils 160,000 jobs and a jewel in the UK’s industrial crown. Now is the time to act.”