India’s Tata Group will build an electric vehicle battery plant in Britain to supply its Jaguar Land Rover factories, delivering a significant boost for the UK car industry needing domestic battery production to help secure its future. The announcement marks Britain’s most significant move in the car gigafactory space as it seeks to keep up with the United States and European Union in the race to develop green industries.
The new factory in Bridgwater in southwest England will produce battery cells and packs to meet a broad range of solutions within the mobility and energy sectors, including electromobility and stationary storage. The company said it is Tata’s first such facility outside of India and will represent one of the most significant investments in the UK’s automotive sector. JLR will be the primary customer for the new facility, but Tata says it could also serve other customers in Europe, China, and beyond.
The investment will create “thousands of skilled jobs in the UK,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said in a statement, adding that the facility will help the country maintain its lead in the global transition to electrification. It is slated to start production in 2026, the company said. Tata’s Chairman N Chandrasekaran hailed the decision as a sign of the strength of the British automotive industry and its workforce. He will meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later Wednesday to discuss the project.
Sunak praised the deal as an “incredibly proud moment” for Britain and said the plant will be a “strong foundation for the future of our automotive industry.” He added that the government will continue supporting the sector with an ambitious clean air strategy, including banning new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and a target of net zero carbon by 2050.
According to the company, the new facility will produce at least 40 gigawatt-hours of batteries annually. That would make it the most extensive such factory in Europe. Tata said it chose the location in Somerset over a site in Spain because of its proximity to JLR’s existing plants in Wales, the ability to access critical raw materials, and low power costs. The UK government fought hard for the investment, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps told BBC Radio, declining to detail what subsidies it had offered Tata.
Industry experts, such as Andy Palmer, former CEO of Aston Martin and chairman of EV battery developer InoBat, say that government subsidies are essential to keep the industry competitive in a world where many nations offer substantial incentives to preserve their own car companies. He said the UK was likely to offer hundreds of millions of pounds in subsidies to Tata for its new plant. He added that such details will be revealed as part of regular transparency data on the UK’s support for high-energy use. Batteries typically account for more than half the price of an electric car.
