Government Support for UK Automotive Sector
As part of its Industrial Strategy, the Government has announced a new £2 billion programme to unlock investment into our automotive industry, DRIVE35 (‘Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification’).
Building on the successes of the Automotive Transformation Fund and Advanced Propulsion Centre R&D programmes, this programme will support the latest research and development, accelerate commercial scale up, and unlock capital investment in zero emission vehicles, batteries and the wider supply chain. It will ensure continuity in Government support while transitioning to a new funding offer for investors that is much simpler, clearer and faster. The new programme will work alongside the National Wealth Fund, as part of a comprehensive offer to attract strategic investments.
DRIVE35 will provide long-term certainty to investors, with capital funding over five years and R&D funding for ten years, to 2035. This long-term commitment is a vote of confidence in the sector, supporting its transformation to unlock growth and enable competitiveness.
We will release further detail in the coming weeks, and will continue to engage with industry as we take forward our plans.
As with all financial assistance, Government will disburse DRIVE35 funding via specific spending powers. As part of the requirements for capital spending under Section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982, today Government is tabling a parliamentary motion seeking authorisation to disburse up to £1bn (of DRIVE35’s total £2bn) via s.8. The motion is as follows and will be debated in due course:
“That this House authorises the Secretary of State to undertake, during the period beginning with the date of approval of this motion and ending on 31 July 2030, to pay, by way of financial assistance under section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982, grants to businesses as part of His Majesty’s Government’s project to support zero-emission vehicle manufacturing in the UK and the UK’s automotive supply chain, including to support the creation of jobs, private investment into the UK, the development of the automotive industry and emission reductions, up to an overall limit of £1 billion, and to pay during or after that period the grants that are undertaken to be paid.”