Vince Cable Pledges £500m Government Investment in UK Motor Industry

Britain's automotive industry is getting a £500m boost from the government over the coming decade to make the country a global centre for the research and development of new low carbon technologies for vehicles.

Together with £500m of investment from the industry itself, the £1bn cash pile will pay for the creation of an Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). It is set to secure thousands of jobs that are reliant on the production of vehicle engines in the UK and create many more at supply chain firms.

"The UK automotive sector has been incredibly successful in recent times, with billions of pounds of investment and new jobs. This has been achieved by government and industry working together," said Business Secretary Vince Cable.

"With the next generation of vehicles set to be powered by radically different technologies we need to maintain this momentum and act now. Our industrial strategy will ensure we keep on working together to make our automotive industry a world leader."

Growing Britain's Manufacturing Industry

In recent years the domestic automotive industry struggled to compete with rivals in emerging markets such as India, which could manufacture vehicles at a much lower cost. Many of the historic British brands have been sold off to foreign firms.

However, the industry is going through an export-led revival as manufacturers plough billions into developing high quality, fuel efficient vehicles that are desired all over the world.

From 2010 there has been £6bn worth of investment by the UK's automotive industry.

In 2012, over 1.5 million vehicles were manufactured in Britain and four out of five of those were exported.

During the same year, Britain's car market grew at its fastest rate in 11 years. New registrations volume saw its biggest annual increase in four years even as the UK economy wallowed in recession.

The government's £500m investment is part of its Driving Success strategy for the automotive industry, which is backed by 27 firms, including Nissan and Ford.

"Businesses prefer consistency, stability and a clear path to the future in order to make investment plans. Driving Success, the automotive industrial strategy, sets out how industry will work together with the government over the next 20 or 30 years," said Professor Richard Parry-Jones, co-chair of the government's Automotive Council.

"This is critical to sustaining and growing a thriving UK automotive sector in a highly competitive global industry."