Automotive sector calls on political parties to support route to competitiveness

A commitment to transforming automotive production, giving confidence to drivers to go electric and upskilling workers, combined with making sure British vehicles can be sold globally, and driving down the cost of clean energy, would help the sector to lead the UK’s net zero ambitions.

Launching “Manifesto 2030: Automotive growth for a zero emission future” at its annual International Summit in London today (June 27, 2023), the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) called on all parties to acknowledge the strategic importance of the sector to the UK and create the conditions for a 10-fold rise in annual battery electric vehicle (BEV) production to over 750,000 units per year by 2030. According to SMMT, this would equate to a cumulative £106bn worth of products at factory gate.

Facilitating this growth is contingent on British plants attracting the next generation of electric models and scaling up an emerging EV supply chain. As the sector consolidates its post-pandemic recovery, with sustained growth in new vehicle registrations, production output and manufacturing jobs, it faces global competition as other countries offer cash incentives and subsidies to attract green manufacturing.