The UK’s vehicle battery strategy could be in peril if Jaguar Land Rover does as has been reported and sources batteries from continental Europe instead of the UK.
JLR is in talks with Swedish cell maker Northvolt and the Germany-based unit of China’s Svolt to supply batteries for a range of electric vehicles to be built in its Nitra, Slovakia, plant, Bloomberg reported this week.
Such a decision would be a blow to UK start-up Britishvolt, which hopes to start building batteries in its Blyth, Northumberland plant by 2023, as well as those of Envision AESC, which is planning a major expansion of its Sunderland battery plant alongside customer Nissan. It could also stop dead plans for a battery plant given the green light for construction at the former Coventry airport.
