Working people will benefit from 1,000 jobs at a new state-of-the-art gigafactory in Sunderland in a £1 billion auto deal to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and boost growth, News Cover reports, citing UK government.
This investment is another boost for the British car industry after yesterday’s landmark economic deal with the United States saved thousands of jobs by slashing tariffs on British exports.
The new AESC gigafactory will manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, powering up to 100,000 EVs each year - a six-fold increase on the country’s current capacity – making the UK globally competitive selling more British EVs at home and abroad and helping to achieve our net zero target.
In the landmark transaction, the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance will provide financial guarantees which unlock £680 million in financing from banks including Standard Chartered, HSBC, SMBC Group, Societe Generale and BBVA. This will cover construction and operation of the new plant. The remaining £320 million has been secured through private financing in addition to new equity provided by AESC.
In addition to this £1 billion investment, the Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund is also investing £150 million in grant funding.
This is the Government’s Plan for Change in action, making us more competitive on the world stage, helping Britain on its way to becoming a clean energy superpower through innovation in the automotive sector, and delivering economic growth that puts more money in people’s pockets through high skilled jobs.
