Tata, the Owner of Jaguar Land Rover to Select UK for Mega Car Battery Plant

According to a BBC report, the Jaguar Land Rover owner, Tata Motors, is all set to pick the UK over Spain for a multi-billion pound electric car battery plant. The boss of Jaguar Land Rover is expected to fly to London next week to finalize the deal for setting up a car battery manufacturing plant that will give employment to up to 9,000 people directly in Somerset, England.

However, the government officials of the UK refused to comment on this BBC report. The parent company, Tata Sons, also did not reply instantly.

The country's automotive sector employs 8,00,000 people directly and within the supply chain.

According to the BBC's report, this decision by Tata to pick the UK over Spain was a major win for Rishi Sunak's government because the government was pressured to attract major investments from carmakers.

Further, finance minister Jeremy Hunt hinted at this development with a short statement, "Watch this space," when questioned about it at an event.

The UK has already left behind the US and Europe in terms of local manufacturing and promoting EV car manufacturing. Without proper manufacturing facilities, the future of the UK's car industry will be at risk.

Earlier this week, one of the largest car manufacturers, Stellantis, warned the UK that factories would be required to be closed if the government does not negotiate a Brexit deal. This owner company of Vauxhall, Citroen, Fiat, and Peugeot has already announced plans to manufacture electric cars in the UK. However, it was under threat due to post-Brexit rules.

According to a BBC report, this unexpected decision by Tata to set up an EV battery plant in the UK is a costly undertaking. The UK government hasn't specified the figures but has said that the subsidies are in hundreds of millions of pounds.

These subsidies might be in the form of cash grants, energy subsidies, and other R&D funding. The Indian automotive brand, Tata, has a deep interest in the UK, including Port Talbot Plant in South Wales, and the government is expected to offer about £300m of subsidies and other benefits to upgrade these operations. Combining all these benefits, the total incentives given to Tata may come close to £800m.

Based on government sources, these two projects will not be announced at the same time though they are interconnected with each other.

Some investment insiders in the UK also believe that this big investment from Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, will open the door to other battery investments in the UK, which only has Nissan's Sunderland factory. The EU has about 35 battery manufacturing plants in construction or planned.