Tata Group to invest 4 billion pounds to build electric vehicle battery plant in UK.
Having established Tata Limited in 1907 to represent it in Europe, the group has grown to comprise 19 companies and a 60,000-strong workforce spread across the region.
Today, there are 19 Tata companies across the continent, with 60,000+ employees. In the UK, Tata is among the largest industrial employers, operating in over 40 locations. Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Steel and Tata Motors are leading Tata companies in the region.
Each Tata company or enterprise operates independently under the guidance and supervision of its own board of directors. There are 29 publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of $311 billion (INR 23.6 trillion) as on March 31, 2022.
Key highlights:
- Tata Group announces new multibillion-pound electric car battery factory to be built in the UK – one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector.
- Investment will create up to 4,000 new direct jobs, and thousands more in the wider supply chain – driving forward the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy.
- New gigafactory set to provide almost half of the battery production needed by 2030 – turbocharging UK’s switch to zero emissions vehicles.
The UK has been chosen as the home of Tata Group’s first gigafactory outside India, in a move set to create thousands of jobs and bring a huge boost to the UK’s automotive sector jobs.
Tata Group confirmed the UK had secured one of the largest ever investments in the UK auto industry on 19 July 2023. The massive factory will secure UK-produced batteries for another Tata Sons investment, Jaguar Land Rover, as well as other manufacturers in the UK and Europe.
The investment of over £4 billion represents a historic moment for the UK’s growing electric vehicles industry. The new gigafactory will supply JLR’s future battery electric models including the Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar brands, with the potential to also supply other car manufacturers. Production at the new gigafactory is due to start in 2026.
With production scheduled to commence in 2026, this move is expected to accelerate the U.K.’s battery manufacturing capacity and provide almost half of the estimated battery production required by the U.K. by 2030.
The U.K. government has been a supporter of the electric vehicle industry and is backing the transition to cleaner mobility solutions.
The investment from Tata Group is seen as a significant vote of confidence in the country’s automotive sector. The government’s commitment to making the U.K. an attractive destination for automotive investment is evident through initiatives like the Automotive Transformation Fund and the British Industry Supercharger, which aim to boost research and development in the industry.
The investment is seen as a strategic move towards energy security and independence, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and bolstering the country’s role in the electric vehicle market. The factory’s potential to create thousands of jobs in the supply chain further strengthens the U.K.’s automotive industry and fosters a favorable environment for future growth and expansion.
This investment will be crucial to boosting the UK’s battery manufacturing capacity needed to support the electric vehicle industry in the long term. With an initial output of 40GWh it will also provide almost half of the battery production that the Faraday Institution estimates the UK will need by 2030.
