If the government does not assist in the transition to electric vehicles like the US and EU have done, the UK’s automobile industry may vanish, a veteran of the business has warned.
According to Andy Palmer, it was “likely” that auto manufacturers would relocate to other countries if the UK did not offer them a sizable subsidy package on par with the US’s billions in help.
Having held high positions at Nissan and Aston Martin, Mr. Palmer further stated that the industry is facing its “final throw of the dice.”
The UK won’t engage in “toe-to-toe” competition with the US and EU, according to the chancellor.
In order to attract investment, the UK’s strategy would be “superior,” according to Jeremy Hunt, who spoke to the Times newspaper.
Former Aston Martin CEO and current chairman of the electric battery company Inno-bat, Mr. Palmer also served as Nissan’s COO and as CEO of the carmaker.
The UK’s car-making industry was “managing decline,” he said, but there was a “last opportunity” to revive the industry and create jobs with the transition to electric vehicles. He made this statement on the BBC’s Today programme.
He cautioned, though, that substantial subsidy packages, comparable to those announced in the US and currently under consultation by the EU, were required for companies with headquarters in the UK.
It is “not only possible, it’s probable” that the car manufacturers currently based in the UK will relocate if such programmes are not put in place, according to Mr. Palmer.
You have to choose between competing and managing the British industry’s fundamental decline to zero, he said.
“We have one last chance to bring some of that industry back, and if we don’t, then we’ll have to find alternative employment for the 820,000 people,” the speaker said.
The warning follows the US’s introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which grants US companies engaged in the production of eco-friendly technologies, such as electric cars, renewable energy sources, and sustainable aviation fuel, billions of dollars in tax credits and subsidies.
To increase its subsidies for green industry, the EU has responded by proposing a Net Zero Industry Act.
In order to address “serious concerns” about the Inflation Reduction Act, the UK government told the BBC that representatives were speaking with other nations “who are similarly affected” as well as the US administration.
According to the government, it “will continue to tenaciously defend the interests of UK industry.”
The most recent remarks follow Mr. Hunt’s Times article in which he declared that the UK would not engage in a “distortive global subsidy race” in which it would engage in direct conflict with its allies.
Mr. Hunt declared, “Our strategy will be unique and superior. The long-term solution is security, not subsidy, as protectionism threatens to reemerge in the global economy.
Governments around the world are trying to phase out the use of fossil fuels, which is causing the traditional gasoline and diesel vehicle combustion engines to go out of style. As a result, the automotive industry is going through a massive transformation.
Sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK will be prohibited by 2030, according to the government, as part of plans to reduce carbon emissions.
On the road to the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, there are worries that businesses are not receiving enough state support.
With the loss of about 3,500 jobs, Honda closed its car plant in Swindon in recent years, blaming the closure on the need to introduce electric vehicles as well as general changes in the auto industry.
But despite no official announcement, it is believed that BMW is preparing to invest up to £600 million in its Mini plant in Cowley, Oxford, to build electric models.
The volume of brand-new vehicles produced in the UK fell to its lowest level in January since 1956.
The SMMT warned that although Britain had a “firm foundation” for increasing the production of electric vehicles, “we must not squander these advantages.”
The statement read, “We need a structure and pitch that let us compete.”
However, according to the government, it is offering assistance through current programmes and a research and development initiative.
According to the article, Nissan and Envision’s £1 billion investment to build an electric vehicle factory in Sunderland is an illustration of how automakers “choose the UK thanks to our competitive investment environment.”
Commerce and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has branded the US support “protectionist”, while Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has said it is “destructive”.
But Mr. Palmer, who was involved in the Nissan Leaf’s introduction, claimed that businesses were “obligated to look at where the biggest subsidies are coming from” when making investment choices.
He advised, “If you can’t compete, you’ll have to start managing decline.”
