A substantial £50 million fund has been launched to support automotive businesses in the West Midlands as they compete in the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) market. The West Midlands Supplier Readiness and Transformation Fund offers grants to help companies invest in new equipment, skills, and production capacity.
Starting in April, eligible firms can apply for grants ranging from £250,000 to £3 million. To maximize impact, recipients must provide at least 50% private match funding, potentially doubling the overall investment in the region to £100 million.
West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker secured this funding from the Government as part of his strategy to maintain the region’s leadership in automotive electrification. The fund will operate over four years and aligns with the Government’s DRIVE35 initiative, aimed at strengthening UK supply chains and boosting domestic zero-emission technology production.
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The West Midlands is home to one of the UK’s largest automotive hubs, containing 1,000 companies and employing over 30,000 people involved in vehicle manufacturing, engineering parts, and cutting-edge EV and battery technologies.
This initiative is designed to expand supply chain capacity, meeting the rapidly increasing demand for electric vehicles while creating skilled local jobs, raising wages, and increasing productivity.
Mayor Parker remarked, “As the birthplace of the UK car industry, we’re now steering towards a new era of electrification. This Government-backed fund acknowledges our strength in car building and innovation. It’s vital for the British economy that the West Midlands automotive sector thrives. This injection of funding will help us write an exciting new chapter in our industry’s history.”
The fund’s details will be reviewed by the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Investment Board on February 23, followed by final approval from its Board on March 13.
Significant investments are already underway in the region, including a £23 million project at the Coventry & Warwick Investment Zone aimed at battery manufacturing, the installation of 10,000 publicly accessible EV charging points, and the deployment of a zero-emission bus fleet.