Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
The auto manufacturing sector is at a crossroads. The transition to electric vehicle (EV) production is a crucial opportunity to secure well-paid unionised jobs, help decarbonise transport — the UK’s largest emitting sector — strengthen regional economies, improve population health and promote public and low-carbon forms of transport.
Despite potential benefits, a transition to EVs is not without risks. Experts estimate that the sector could lose up to 90,000 jobs this decade if the transition to EV production is poorly managed.1 Ambitious action is needed now to secure the potential benefits of a transition and to avoid job losses. The task, then, is to secure the UK’s auto industry by rolling out EV production sites and in so doing, realise the ambitious future of green industries.
We cannot afford to leave this to chance. An ambitious transition will require a comprehensive industrial strategy to coordinate supply and demand towards a green, secure, public-oriented and affordable mobility future coupled with a thriving EV auto sector.
The auto sector is a source of strength for national and regional economies, especially in held-back areas such as the West Midlands and the North West. Auto industry jobs include well paid, unionised work where wages are on average 35 per cent higher than the UK average and in the North East more than 60 per cent higher than the local average.2
The sector had a turnover of £60.2 billion in 20203 and is a source of pride and identity for many.
Currently, 156,400 people are directly employed in vehicle manufacturing and 797,300 people are employed across the wider automotive industry. 859,575 vehicles were built in the UK in 2021 and the sector contributed £12.7 billion to the national economy. The auto industry plays a key role in trade, as around 80 per cent of vehicles manufactured are exported.4
But the UK auto sector — along with the industry globally — faces a decade of profound change. As part of a new ten-point plan for a “green industrial revolution”, the government is set to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 and by 2035, all new cars produced must release zero emissions.
What is the strategy for this transition from the carbon-emitting internal combustion engines of yesterday to the electric vehicles of the future? The automotive workers we interviewed felt that current plan is lacking — creating risks for the industry and workers. The development of a new industrial strategy to manage the transition could secure existing jobs and grow the green industries of the future, bringing huge benefits to communities across the UK.
According to current projections, if the government does not intervene, half of all people directly employed in a manufacturing role within the industry (as of 2020) could lose their jobs.5 But, as our analysis shows, public investment to develop UK manufacturing of electric cars, buses, vans, taxis and scooters would secure existing jobs and create an additional 33,000 jobs by 2030.6
Frank Duffy is the Unite the Union plant convenor at GKN Automotive in Birmingham. In our interview, Frank reflected on how greater government intervention would build on the strengths of the automotive sector and ensure good jobs are kept in the UK during the transition.
Did you know:
Electric Vehicles have 90% fewer moving parts than an Internal Combustion Engine car.
To understand the dynamics of a transition to electric vehicles, we need to understand the technology behind them. Unlike internal combustion engine vehicles, electric vehicles need a lithium-ion battery.
To secure the maximum value-added through domestic production of the vehicles of the future, batteries will need to be produced domestically, too.
Lithium-ion batteries require their own specialised factories for production. These battery manufacturing plants are known as “gigafactories”.
To safeguard the existing automotive industry, lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles need to be manufactured in large facilities in the UK or EU due to trade rules in the Brexit agreement that will apply from 2027.
Making the cells that form lithium-ion batteries requires large amounts of energy, so cheap and renewable electricity must also be readily available.
So far, new private companies have made commitments to building these plants in the UK and electrifying current vehicle manufacturing sites. Approximately £12.5 billion has already been privately invested to secure their role in the green transition. However, our analysis shows that further public investment will be needed to achieve a successful transition where jobs and the climate are protected.
The UK is lagging behind Governments across the world have recognised the need for an industrial strategy to prevent the risk of automotive job losses and secure the new industries of the future, with many already putting in place ambitious industrial strategies to drive the transition to EV production. The UK, however, risks being left behind as a result of meagre public investment and a lack of a coherent strategy for ensuring coordination between car and battery manufacturers. The UK government has committed only £2.5 billion to the EV transition since 2020, of which less than half has been committed to transitioning the manufacturing industry.7
Gigawatt hours per year (GWh/a) measure the amount of energy produced by lithium-ion batteries inside of electric vehicles (EVs) annually. This measurement reflects the manufacturing capacity of the electric automotive sector.
The UK currently supplies 2GWh/a. The demand is 80GW/a by 2030.
We have mapped out the current landscape of the automotive industry and two possible futures. Explore the map below to see what the transition could look like on a regional level.
The workers and trade union representatives we interviewed described how a green industrial strategy to deliver the transition could secure union jobs.
Des Quinn, Unite National Officer for Automotive described his hopes for the EV transition.
Mick Graham, Plant Convenor for Jaguar Land Rover, Solihull describes how trade unions can secure good conditions for workers during the transition.
The transformation of the automotive sector is a critical step to decarbonising transport, which is the UK’s biggest emitting sector. By securing a future for EVs, bus and bicycle production the transition can help ensure the future of mobility is green, multi-modal, and public-oriented.
The automotive industry has played a historic role in regional economies across the UK.
Areas like the West Midlands and the North West have not been able to flourish due to policies of deindustrialisation and austerity pursued by successive governments, but, as outlined by Steve Turner Assistant General Secretary at Unite, investment in the transition to EVs can help deliver regional prosperity.
The trade union representatives and automotive workers we interviewed also described how it was in their interest as workers in the UK to fight for the working conditions of global supply chain workers during the transition to the manufacturing industries of the future.
Steve Bush, Unite’s National Officer for Automotive describes the need for solidarity with supply chain workers as part of a just transition.
[1] “Full Throttle: Driving UK Automotive Competitiveness”, SMMT. Available here.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Automotive Factsheet, SMMT. Available here.
[4] Ibid.
[5] “Full Throttle”, SMMT.
[6] For details, see the Methodological Note in the side panel of the Mapping Tool.
[7] “Taking Charge: The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy”, HM Government, p. 54. Available here.