The factories are seen as critical to ensuring the UK remains a major exporter of cars to the EU beyond 2027, when new “rules of origin” require 55 percent of a car’s value to come from the UK or the EU in order to pay tariffs avoid.
However, the Lords warned that it would be impossible to do so without securing the basic materials needed for the batteries, as countries like China and the US try to guarantee their own supply chains. It called on the government to draft a “critical raw materials strategy” that makes better use of domestic resources.
“Without the necessary British supply chains, production will be relocated to the EU,” the report says. It added that the government’s 2030 target of banning the sale of new gasoline cars could become an integral part of its net-zero strategy without a major expansion of capacity, “undeliverable”.
The report, released on Tuesday, said ministers’ rosy visions of the UK’s electric car future stand in stark contrast to much of the industry, which fears the UK is falling behind key competitors.
