Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage investment in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing in the UK.

As part of the Government’s Net Zero Strategy, we are allocating a further £350 million for the Automotive Transformation Fund, as part of our up to £1 billion commitment to build an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain including gigafactories. This is in addition to the £500m of funding announced as part of the 10 Point Plan. This will help ensure the UK maximises the benefits from the transition to a zero emission vehicle future and support tens of thousands of high-quality green jobs across the UK.

We continue to work closely with investors to progress plans for manufacturing the batteries that we will need for the next generation of electric vehicles here in the UK. The £1bn investment announced by Nissan and Envision AESC to create an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub is a major vote of confidence in the UK. We are delivering on our commitment to transition to a zero-carbon future, secure Gigafactories and ensure we continue our proud legacy of being one of the best locations for competitive, high-quality automotive manufacturing.