Nissan plans to warn ministers that the UK car industry has reached a “crisis point”, with jobs and competitiveness at risk unless the government relaxes electric vehicle rules, according to two people with direct knowledge of internal discussions. EVs made up 18 per cent of new car sales in the UK in the first 10 months of the year, below the 22 per cent required under a government quota scheme. Manufacturers can bridge the gap by buying credits from electric vehicle makers such as Tesla.
“We’ve also announced over £300mn in the Budget to support the transition, and a further £2bn to support the automotive manufacturing in the UK.” Nissan is one of the largest automotive employers in the UK with more than 6,000 workers at its Sunderland plant, which supports another 30,000 jobs across the supply chain and where the company has invested £6bn.