Electric Vehicles: Transition by 2030

Darren Henry Excerpts

Thursday 9th December 2021 Westminster Hall

[Darren Henry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I thank the hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) for securing this debate.

I am pleased to be here today to speak on such a crucial and exciting topic and to see so many other hon. Members here to do the same. The UK Government have already pledged to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and hybrids by 2035—a fantastic commitment that will ensure we are striding towards our net zero targets. It is clear that carbon emissions must fall by 100% by 2050 to meet those targets.

The target for electric vehicles set out by the Government is ambitious, but ambitious targets will not be achieved without equally ambitious policies for our infrastructure, green economy and environment. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity but right now we are moving too slowly. At the moment, less than one in every 100 vehicles is an electric vehicle.

I am co-chair of the midlands engine all-party parliamentary group. In the midlands, where my Broxtowe constituency is, 39,410 new public electric vehicle charging points must be installed by the end of the decade. Urgent action is needed to speed up the installation of electric vehicle charging points across the midlands. Midlands Connect’s report, “Supercharging the Midlands”, suggests that electric vehicle use will increase by more than 3,000% by the end of the decade and that the installation of public electric vehicle charging points must be six times as fast to support the growing demand.

At present, 93% of electric vehicle owners have access to off-street parking and can install an at-home electric charger. However, one third of midlands households do not have off-street parking, so would rely solely on public chargers to power their electric vehicle. At the moment, less than one in every 100 vehicles is an electric vehicle. The action we need to take is to help local authorities to identify the best place to install new electric vehicle charging points and work alongside my colleagues in the Department for Transport to position the midlands as the best test bed for the accelerated delivery of charging points.

For constituents, the benefits of purchasing an EV are numerous. Unlike conventional vehicles, they have no exhaust pipe and emit no dangerous gases such as carbon dioxide or nitrous oxides, reducing pollution and improving air quality for local communities. They are also considerably cheaper to power: charging an EV in public costs approximately 58% less than filling a car with petrol, while at-home charging is even more cost-effective. It is important that those benefits are clear and are shouted about.

Given the midlands’ reliance on the automotive sector, securing a successful green transition in the sector is critical to the region. Electric vehicles represent a significant opportunity across the supply chain, led by original equipment manufacturers but supported by the expertise and engineering quality of our small and medium-sized enterprises. Success could be harnessed by exploiting the emerging resetting of international supply chains and encouraging substantial re-shoring. Bringing the manufacture of batteries firmly to the UK and specifically to the midlands would also be advantageous in the context of the UK-European Union rules of origin from 2027.

An integrated supply of battery-electric vehicles, supported by a gigafactory and local supply chain, would create the most value. Proposed initiatives include the west midlands gigafactory site in Coventry and Britishvolt’s facility at MIRA technology park in Nuneaton. Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park also has plans for a gigafactory to be sited in the east midlands, but much work is still to be done to secure a green automotive future for the midlands.

Electric battery manufacturing could be worth up to £916 million gross value added in the midlands, reflecting a £24 billion electrification opportunity across the UK, and automotive opportunities across the midlands could be worth £2 billion GVA. We have significant automotive manufacturing facilities in the region, including Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, BMW and Tata Motors. The region is home to significant academic research and innovation in electric vehicles and batteries, and that includes the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre.

Batteries represent around 40% of an electric vehicle’s value and half the opportunity value of battery-powered electric vehicles. Opportunities are available in the components used to make a battery cell, such as the cathode, anode, electrolyte supply and final assembly, as well as in the supply of components such as cases, coves, bracketry and cabling.

It is clear that the potential benefits that lie with the increase in electric vehicles is huge. The Government have a fantastic opportunity not just to level up but to clean up by creating industries and opportunities around the manufacturing of electric vehicles, as well as ensuring that we reach our net zero targets.

[Several hon. Members rose—]