Dr Andrew Jones, Centre for Business in Society

Rise, Fall and Rise Again?

Automotive production and Coventry are symbolically linked, with over 50 manufacturers having produced vehicles in the city since the first vehicle produced by Daimler in 1897. Subsequently, the sector in Coventry saw exponential growth, but as the city benefitted from the broader boom in the UK industry, it also suffered during the decline of the 70s and 80s. Such decline appeared irreversible as firms such as Jaguar and Peugeot shut production facilities in Coventry during the 2000s. However, the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover by Tata in 2008 helped to facilitate a revival in the fortunes of both Coventry and the wider West Midlands in the automotive sector. This investment, allied to the saving of Coventry-based London Taxi Corporation Limited by the Chinese automotive firm Geely, has presented Coventry with an opportunity to exploit the industry’s looming transition towards an electric future.

Electrification: The Chance for Revival?

As the UK and other major markets transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles towards greener versions powered by batteries, there is a need to for new skills, technologies, and expertise to be introduced into the automotive supply chain. In Coventry, JLR has announced plans for an expansion in engineering roles, whilst Geely is basing its new EV joint-venture with Renault in Coventry. Alongside the investments being made by these firms in the city, Coventry is also home to the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, which aims to support UK industry to develop technologies and skills as well as growing battery production. The city has also been at the heart of the Midlands Future Mobility testbed, which is supporting the development of autonomous technologies as well as low carbon solutions. There are also discussions with EVE Energy, a Chinese owned battery producer, to locate a gigafactory on the outskirts of the city, which would potentially be twice-as-large as the facility operated by Nissan in Sunderland.

It is not simply battery production, and investment in skills, underpinning Coventry’s strength in the electric vehicle space. In 2022, Coventry was declared the UK’s most EV friendly city with 128 chargers per 100,000 people, with plans in place to expand this provision as part of the city’s broader decarbonisation agenda. This is a key component of the desire to futureproof Coventry, with the number of EV chargers second only to London.  Critically, the City Council is ensuring that residents can access on-street charging facilities given that 46% of households in Coventry cannot access private parking. These interventions are important signals that the city is fully supportive of the transition to an electric future, and ensures that policy responses are centred on both demand and supply-side aspects. Understanding the impacts, and requirements, for this transition is a key component of ongoing research being conducted by the Centre for Business in Society, and their ongoing connections with policymakers in Coventry and the West Midlands. This includes a jointly-supervised PhD with the Centre for Future Transport and Cities investigating the application of appropriate charging solutions across different markets.

Global Headwinds

Coventry is well-placed to take advantage of the transition to electric vehicles through the combination of investment supporting the establishment of charging infrastructure and the desire to attract battery production into the area. However, the track record in the automotive sector of Coventry, and indeed the West Midlands, has yet to secure large scale battery production. The region lost out to Somerset for the first UK gigafactory, a process which illustrated the importance of government support in directing investment decisions, but the UK is not committing as much investment in this space as other nations. For the West Midlands to secure a gigafactory it is likely that substantial private sector investment will be required.

However, the presence of battery production in the UK, even if outside of Coventry and the West Midlands, should still have positives for the city in helping to secure other jobs and investment elsewhere in the supply chain.

Ultimately, the potential for Coventry to become a leader in the electrification race is likely to be dependent on factors well outside the control of policymakers in the city. More broadly the global automotive sector is currently beset by a suite of political challenges, including the imposition of tariffs by the USA and EU seeking to combat what are perceived as ‘unfair subsidies’ being provided by the Chinese state to support its own EV production. Given the scope of such investment, it is argued that Chinese firms can offer vehicles at prices other producers cannot match. In the USA, warnings from industry suggested that a flood of cheap Chinese imports could be an extinction-level event for the US sector. As production volumes in the UK industry have struggled to recover post-pandemic, the future shape of the UK automotive industry remains highly uncertain, and the next government may need to take decisive action to safeguard its future. 

But Are EVs the Future?

Outside of the possibility of a ‘trade war’ impacting the EV market, consumers also remain unconvinced, and some manufacturers are currently reducing their investment in EVs.  At the heart of these concerns are the slowing rate of consumer adoption and R&D costs. Ongoing research conducted by members of the CBiS team has found that EVs remain a product more appealing to wealthier individuals, and that they are still perceived as being technologically inferior to ICE vehicles, as well as too expensive. There are enduring perceptions from some consumers that EVs are ‘not for them’. For Coventry, strong support from local government, Universities, and other stakeholders is extremely positive, but will not be sufficient to address some of the broader headwinds in the current marketplace. Although the 2035 ban on the sale of ICE vehicles remains, and the transition to a greener form of automobility will likely endure, the pace of change is uncertain. And it remains to be seen how a new UK government will view EVs, investment support and net zero targets. Nevertheless, Coventry remains well-placed; even cited by the influential US Forbes magazine as such.

Through understanding the impact of organisations’ activities, behaviours and policies, the Centre for Business in Society at Coventry University seeks to promote responsibility, to change behaviours, and to achieve better outcomes for economies, societies and the individual. 

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