UK’s automotive industry, out of the world’s top 15, takes another hit as Jaguar Land Rover looks to Slovakia for electric vehicle batteries
- Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with Northvolt and SVolt Energy Technology about supplying batteries for a range of EVs it may assemble in Slovakia
- Unless battery investment picks up, carmakers may only accelerate their exodus from what was once the world’s second-biggest auto manufacturing base
The UK lacks the cell and pack factories automakers will need to support their transition away from the internal combustion engine. In what could be a fresh blow to British carmaking, the country’s top auto manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, is in talks with Northvolt and SVolt Energy Technology about supplying batteries for a range of EVs it may assemble in Slovakia, according to people familiar with the matter.
Unless battery investment picks up, carmakers may only accelerate their exodus from what was once the world’s second-biggest auto manufacturing base. The last few years, the UK fell outside the top 15.
“It’s about to be too late to preserve the UK role as a major automotive producer,” said Andy Palmer, the former CEO of Aston Martin who also helped spearhead Nissan’s creation of the Leaf EV built in Sunderland, England. “Unless there’s either a carrot or a stick to incentivize battery production in the UK, it’s only a matter of time before the automobile industry here becomes a niche industry that caters to brands such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley.”
