LONDON, United Kingdom, Mar 1 – The Indian owner of carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has requested £500 million ($603 million) from the British government to help it build a UK battery plant, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Tata Motors has given the government “weeks” to pledge financial support as it decides whether to build the factory in Britain or Spain, said the FT, citing people briefed on talks.
Tata is mulling a partnership with Chinese battery titan Envision to build a plant in Somerset, southwest England for the British brand, the business daily added.
Any aid would reportedly include grants and support packages to assist with energy costs and research funding.
Envision manufactures batteries in the UK for Japanese car giant Nissan, with which it is also building a battery gigafactory in Sunderland, northeast England.
The UK government and Tata Motors declined to comment on the report when approached by AFP.
Prime Minster Rishi Sunak could decide to help after the UK recently risked losing Britishvolt, a startup planning a gigafactory for electric vehicle batteries.
Australia’s Recharge Industries this week completed a deal to buy Britishvolt after it went bankrupt.
