Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at The Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon Centre, in Warwickshire, Britain, after the company announced its plans to set up a global battery cell gigafactory in the UK at an investment of over 4 billion pounds. The move is aimed to help power the automotive sector's transition to electric mobility.
As per the Tata Group, the battery gigafactory will produce high-quality, high-performance, sustainable battery cells and packs for a variety of applications within the mobility and energy sectors. The new gigafactory will have a capacity to produce 40GW of cells annually.
"This investment of over £4 billion is an integral part of the Tata group’s commitment to electric mobility and renewable energy storage solutions and establishes a competitive green tech ecosystem in the UK at scale," the company said in an official statement.
"Our multi-billion-pound investment will bring state-of-the-art technology to the country, helping to power the automotive sector’s transition to electric mobility, anchored by our own business, Jaguar Land Rover. With this strategic investment, the Tata group further strengthens its commitment to the UK, alongside our many companies operating here across technology, consumer, hospitality, steel, chemicals, and automotive," Chandrasekaran stated.
The new gigafactory will be one of the largest in Europe and will create up to 4,000 highly skilled jobs, with further jobs expected to be created in the supply chain. It intends to maximise its renewable energy mix, with an ambition for 100 per cent clean power.
Tata Group’s decision to build their new gigafactory here in the UK – their first outside of India – is a huge vote of confidence in Britain, said Rishi Sunak. "This will be one of the largest ever investments in the UK automotive sector. It will not only create thousands of skilled jobs for Britons around the country, but it will also strengthen our lead in the global transition to electric vehicles, helping to grow our economy in clean industries of the future," he added.
Separately, in a tweet, the UK PM said, "The UK is one of the best places in the world to invest and we can be incredibly proud that we have been chosen as home to @TataCompanies' new gigafactory." He further added that the move by Tata group is a huge vote of confidence in the UK automotive industry.
Production at the new gigafactory, Tata's first outside of India, is due to start in 2026 and is pitched as a key driver behind Sunak's priority to grow the UK economy.
Sourced from Business Today