India’s Tata has chosen to build an electric vehicle battery plant in southwest England, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, a win that would bolster the country’s automotive industry against stiff global competition.
Tata has chosen a site in Somerset to supply a new range of electric Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles and is set to outline its decision as soon as this week, the Bloomberg report said, citing unnamed people familiar with the plans. A government spokesperson said there was no update on any timelines for an announcement, while Tata declined to comment on the report.
There have been months of speculation around where the factory will be built. Tata, a conglomerate with interests in software, steel, cars and airlines, had been choosing between Britain or Spain for the site of the plant. The plant would be a major win for Britain, which is trying to catch up in the global race to build electric vehicle (EV) battery capacity locally – vital for automakers which rely on heavy batteries being built near their car factories.
Britain has expressed concerns at the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, which promises hundreds of billions of dollars of subsidies to green industries, with Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt saying the government did not have large sums of money for similar subsidies. Homegrown battery production will also help British automakers comply with post-Brexit trade rules that will require them to source more electric vehicle components locally in order to avoid tariffs on UK-EU trade from 2024.
The government has previously said it was in talks with the EU over easing those rules after a warning from car giant Stellantis that it would be forced to shut factories with the loss of thousands of jobs were it to face tariffs. Tata’s choice of Britain would also provide a boost for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, which has pledged to grow the economy and outlined a series of net zero goals including a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
The proposed site is owned by Salamanca Group, a privately-held merchant banking business. The group did not comment when contacted by Reuters.
