The UK has to step up its EV battery production to compete with the EU
UK’s flagging auto industry needs electric vehicles to recover
A smoother journey
Looking ahead, anew production outlookreport forecasts that UK car and van production could edge above one million in 2022, and even reach 1.2 million in 2024. Back in 2016,the UK produced 1.7 milliona year. But that now seems a very long time ago, with output damaged ever since by a combination of global markets, Brexit uncertainty, and COVID-related supply chain issues.
Longer term, the auto industry has to deal with the most pronounced change in its history, with a rapid shift now underway towards battery powered electric vehicles. The UK government has set a2030 deadlineto phase out the sale of petrol and diesel cars, but policies to actually get there seem half-hearted.
Progress is not helped for example, by theslow speedof charging infrastructure roll out, or the big cut in subsidies available for new battery electric vehicles which means many do notqualify for support.
On a positive note, British production of battery electric vehicles and hybrid cars (with a combustion engine and a battery) took arecord shareof production in 2021, accounting for around a third of all cars made in November, and more than a quarter (26%) over the year.
Of those,EVoutput was up in November by 53% to 10,359 units, hitting a new high of almost 14% of production, more than double the level a year ago. UK-based car makers like Nissan, MINI and the London Electric Vehicle Company produced more than 60,000 zero emission vehicles in 2021.
But UK battery production islagging behindmajor investment across the EU, which is aiming to be independent in battery production by 2026, and has brought together seven countries to form theEuropean Battery Alliance. And while there is confirmed investment in just one battery “gigafactory” in the UK, there are at least 15 under construction in countries including Sweden, France, Germany, Hungary and Poland.
Investment in battery production in the UK will need to be accelerated dramatically given the shift to electric vehicles is now underway. Beyond that,better and more joined-upsupport for the auto industry will be needed to get to2030with a viable mass UK auto industry intact.
This article byDavid Bailey,Professor of Business Economics,University of Birmingham, is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.
