Government loans £10m to electric car maker
1 min read
The government this week announced a £10 million loan to Tata Motors, the Indian automotive company that now owns Jaguar Land Rover. The loan, to Tata's European Technical Centre (TMETC - pictured) is to be made under the Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP) set up by the government in March to support investment in a lower carbon future for the industry.
The £10 million from government will support £25 million of investment from Tata Motors to develop and manufacture electric vehicles in the UK. The government said the loan was a tangible demonstration of its commitment to the development of low-carbon vehicles and to the reduction of C02 emissions and is the first award under the AAP scheme.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the government was determined to help the car industry to exploit fully the opportunities offered by green manufacturing. "We are backing Tata as Tata backs Britain," he went on.
"This loan will strengthen our electric vehicle manufacturing expertise, securing and creatinghigh value engineering jobs in the West Midlands. TMETC will continue to invest in R&D in the next generation of sustainable transport, helping it become a lead player in this exciting and important technological area."
Tata has developed a four-seater electric vehicle, based on the Tata Indica Vista passenger car which was launched in India last year. The electric vehicle has a range of up to 200km, a top speed of 104kph and will be in production before the end of 2009.
