The UK government has held talks with six manufacturers about building “gigafactory” electric car battery plants as part of its efforts to improve the prospects of the British automotive industry.
The US carmaker Ford and the Korean electronics conglomerates LG and Samsung are among the companies that have had early-stage discussions with the government or local authorities, it is understood.
They add to talks over possible investment by the Japanese carmaker Nissan, as well as two efforts by smaller startups, InoBat and Britishvolt. The talks were first reported by the Financial Times.
Politicians including the prime minister, Boris Johnson, as well as automotive industry insiders, are hopeful the UK can protect jobs in the sector by securing investment from private companies in “gigafactories” – the name dreamed up by the Tesla boss, Elon Musk, for very large battery factories.
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