The confirmation that a new multi-billion pound electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility will be in Somerset came in the week to 1 March 2024, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)1. The industry body said the plant would provide 4,000 skilled jobs, alongside wider benefits to the region and to Britain's economy1. The SMMT described the confirmation as eagerly anticipated1.
The announcement was reported by the SMMT in a 1 March 2024 article setting out its Budget submission on electric vehicle taxation, rather than as a standalone company statement1. The article does not name the company behind the facility, the exact location within Somerset, the value of the investment or a date for the start of construction or production. Those details have not been reported in the source1.
The SMMT placed the battery plant within a wider argument about manufacturing competitiveness, which it said is crucial to attracting green growth1. It cited its own car manufacturing figures showing volumes up by a fifth in January, with electrified vehicles accounting for almost one in four made, and said commercial vehicle production had its best January for 16 years1.
"Shoring up the UK's manufacturing competitiveness is also crucial to attract green growth, and the confirmation this week that a new multi-billion pound EV battery manufacturing facility will be in Somerset was eagerly anticipated, providing 4,000 skilled jobs and wider benefits to the region and Britain's economy."
The same article set out separate SMMT findings on buyer sentiment and charging costs. It said that last year just one in 10 potential new car buyers said they would wait until after 2030 to switch, while today around half say they will wait, a change it linked to the government's September decision to delay the end of sale of pure petrol and diesel cars until 20351. It also said more than one in three drivers does not have a driveway and would rely on public chargepoints, and that public charging incurs VAT at four times the rate of private charging1.
| SMMT position | Figure given |
|---|---|
| VAT on new private EV purchases | Halve it, saving the average adopter around £4,000 off the upfront purchase price1 |
| Cost to the Treasury of that measure | £1,250 per vehicle, less than the scrapped Plug-in Car Grant1 |
| Public charging VAT | Four times the rate of private charging1 |
| Buyer sentiment | Last year one in 10 would wait until after 2030; today around half say they will wait1 |
Why it matters for households
A UK battery plant of this scale bears on where the cells in an electric car are made, and therefore on the supply chain behind the vehicles households buy and charge at home. The SMMT frames manufacturing capacity as a condition for green growth, and links it to the models UK manufacturers are launching, including electric vans, buses and a hydrogen coach1. For a household weighing an electric car, the source offers no detail on which vehicles the Somerset plant would supply, when, or at what price, so no link between the plant and the cost of a particular model can be drawn from it1.
The charging points a home uses are a separate matter. The SMMT's point that more than one in three drivers has no driveway, and so depends on public chargepoints taxed at four times the private rate, describes a cost difference that falls on households without off-street parking1. Home charging arrangements, including the equipment that lets a car share power with a house, are covered in the site's ev-charging hub and its guide to Vehicle-to-Grid and Vehicle-to-Home Charging in the UK.
What happens next
The SMMT article was published five days before the Spring Budget, which it called a pivotal moment for re-energising the EV market1. It called for VAT on new private EV purchases to be halved, for EVs to be exempt from "expensive car premium" Vehicle Excise Duty rates due to come into force next year, and for the Budget to correct the VAT treatment of public charging1. It also flagged this year's Commercial Vehicle Show on 23-25 April1. No date has been reported for the start of work on the Somerset facility1.
Sources1 cited
- Decarbonisation demands fair taxation - SMMT, smmt.co.uk