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
