Transportation

UK Counters Biden Subsidies With £500 Million for Jaguar

  • New £4 billion plant gives hope for electric car production
  • Critics say more UK battery factories needed amid global race
Rishi Sunak, center, visits the JLR plant in Warwickshire, UK, on July 19.Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Britain’s car industry has been on the decline for some time, with production falling to a 66-year low last year and rival governments pledging vast amounts of public funds to the development of electric vehicles.

On Wednesday, there was a response. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak flew by helicopter to Warwickshire, in the west Midlands, to hail a new range of electric Jaguar Land Rover vehicles that will be backed by a £4 billion ($5.2 billion) battery factory to be built further south in Somerset.