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Electric minis for the UK
IF a government grant said to be worth around a £75 million is agreed by the British government, then BMW will go ahead and build electric minis at its Oxfordshire plant.
According to a news source on Saturday, February 4 the company is in talks to secure funding from Whitehall’s Automotive Transformation Fund.
THE UK is set to spend £30 million of government funding for innovative projects to decarbonise UK highways.
Seven projects spread across the UK, from Lanarkshire to Devon, have been awarded funding through the Decarbonising Local Roads competition.
The programme supports projects led by local highways authorities focused on tackling the longterm decarbonisation of highways infrastructure, such as streetlights, and transform ing local authorities’ approach to decarbonising roads.
Other projects plan to drive changes to the design, construction and maintenance of typical UK highway construction, as well as plans to develop a firstofitskind system approach to creating a net carbonnegative model for green infrastructure delivery.
Roads Minister, Richard Holden, confirmed: “The UK is a world leader in technology and innovation and we must use that strength to drive decarbonisation and the next generation of high tech jobs that go alongside it.
“We are supporting this vital agenda to help level up through £30 million funding for groundbreaking projects and boosting regional connections to support growth.”
The minister added: “The government is determined to create good, wellpaid jobs via innovation and investment across the UK as we accelerate the road to net zero.”
The application is said to have the support of both the business secretary and the chancellor, with talks possibly being finalised within weeks.
What isn’t clear is how the funding will be used and when it would be used, but it would provide a major boost for an industry that has just experienced its worst output since the 50s.
Production in 2022 dropped nearly 10 per cent falling to around 775,000 vehicles according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and
Traders (SMMT).
Supply chain issues and BREXIT have all impacted on the industry, which is struggling to return to prepandemic levels of production. To make matters worse Britishvolt, the electric vehicle battery manufacturer that hoped to supply the local industry has collapsed.
BMW, which employs 4,000 people at the plant, is said to be committed to the UK although it had indicated in 2021 that it would produce the electric mini elsewhere.
Then it said the electric mini would be built in China, however, with the world a different place it is thought the company has revisited its plans. Neither the government nor BMW would however comment on the talks.
