Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries
(asked on 15th October 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help small and medium-sized automotive suppliers in the West Midlands diversify their customer base.
Answered by
Blair McDougall
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our modern Industrial Strategy launched DRIVE35, the largest government investment in the automotive industry of the post-war era.
Through DRIVE35, we are working with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including the West Midlands, to strengthen the UK's automotive manufacturing base and build competitive industrial clusters and resilient regional supply chains.
The DRIVE35 Supplier Readiness and Transformation (SRT) programme has invested up to £100 million in the North East and West Midlands to accelerate supply-chain growth and EV readiness. It offers grants to help West Midlands automotive suppliers scale, diversify and build critical EV supply-chain capacity.