Tata Sons have confirmed that they are to build a new factory in the UK, which will produce lithium-ion batteries for electric Jaguar Land Rover cars.
The factory, which will be located in Somerset, is expected to begin producing batteries from 2026 and is expected to produce 40 gigawatts of cells each year.
N Chandrasekaren, the Chairman of Tata Sons, explained the company’s plans for the new battery gigafactory.
He said: “Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchorched by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover.
“With this strategic investment, the Tata group further strengthens its commitment to the UK, alongside our many companies operating here across the technology, consumer, hospitality, steel, chemicals, and automotive.”
Whilst the majority of Jaguar Land Rover products are plug-in hybrids, the company currently only offers one fully electric model, the Jaguar I-Pace, which is produced in Graz, Austria.
However, the company has announced that they will start producing fully electric Land Rover models from 2024 and will have a complete lineup of EVs by 2025.
The new gigafactory is set to bring 4,000 direct jobs to the area, alongside thousands of jobs for the supply chain surrounding the materials and raw minerals used in the battery cells.
Quentin Willson, motoring journalist and founder of the campaign group FairCharge, supports the announcement but warned that no manufacturers should be left out.
He said: “While this is a very significant development for UK battery manufacturing, I truly hope that other companies in the battery, critical minerals, charging and EV supply chains won’t be neglected.
“The Government should see this subsidy as the beginning of building a battery ecosystem in this country.”
Current Government plans aim to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, raising concerns that the automotive industry in the UK needs to be prepared to make the switch to EV production.
In May 2023, 35 percent of cars manufactured in the UK were hybrids or fully electric, an increase of 95.4 percent compared to May 2022.
According to Tata, the upcoming gigafactory will be able to produce half of all battery packs required by the UK automotive industry by 2030.
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