Automotive
Embrace the huge opportunity of the electrification of UK Automotive Industry
UK Auto Industry overview
UK is the birthplace of the world industrial revolution. It has made countless proud achievements in the automotive industry and has the largest number of legendary luxury car brands-Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, McLaren, Bentley, etc. Hundreds of years of accumulation in automobile industry have made the UK paying more attention to the new development trend: from manufacturing-driven to technology-driven.The British government's determination to support the upgrading and transformation of the automotive industry has enabled the country to be at the forefront of the global automotive manufacturing research and development.
Electrification on the way
It is estimated that in the next decades, fossil fuel and internal combustion engines will be gradually replaced by battery and fuel cells. In additoin, the technology for connected and autonomous vehicle will be upgraded to a more advanced level of application in wider industries. There is huge opportunity in the new energy vehicle supply chain industry.
Government support and Ten Point Plan
The UK government mandates carbon neutrality by 2050. The UK government announced additional £1bn Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) in 2020 to support the establishment of large-scale electrification industrial supply chain, including important capital and R&D investments covering all battery related areas, electronic engine, and fuel cell. British PM Boris Johnson outlined a 'Ten-Point-Plan’ for green industrial revolution in 2020, setting the ambition to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030, and the sale of hybrid cars and vans from 2035.
£78.9 bn
UK auto industry turnover in 2019
1.3m
cars built in the UK in 2019
80%
of the car manufactured in UK are exported
£3.72bn
invested in R&D in 2019
Battery
In October 2019 Professor B. Goodenough was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work at Oxford University, making possible lithium-ion batteries that are now used to power electric cars. UK is leader in battery cell and pack design, with £27 million centre at WMG.
Lightweighting
The well-developed racing industry and aerospace industry in the UK provide important technical support for vehicle lightweighting.UK is a world leader in lightweight composite materials. In recent years, UK government has invested more than 300 million pounds in this field. As the birthplace of graphene, UK has the world's leading graphene research base.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
UK was the first major country to create a regulatory framework allowing autonomous cars on all UK roads (2015). It was also the first country in the world to pass legislation setting out the rules for the insurance of autonomous vehicles (2018) - a framework that is now being copied by many other countries.
The UK also has probably the most sophisticated network of test facilities for autonomous vehicles in the world with six dedicated UK CAV testbeds, developed and coordinated by Zenzic.
Joint collaboration between China and UK
The global automotive industry is moving towards zero emissions at an increasing pace – led to a great degree by the UK and China. With Chinese government’s 2060 carbon neutrality plan and UK’s COP26 Presidency, we believe there is huge collaboration opportunities between the two countries on decarbonised road transportation.
Giga-factory Investment
Estimates suggest that the UK auto sector will need c.80GWh of battery manufacturing capacity by 2030. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) is good news for Chinese investors. We have zero tariff, zero quota access to the EU market. Rules of Origin agreements were specifically designed to support exports from auto manufacturers in the UK. From 2027 all electric vehicles must have a battery produced in the UK in order to export tariff free to the EU. This guarantees UK demand over the long-term.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
As one of the supportive sub-sectors in ATF, hydrogen fuel cell becomes a hot topic in recent days. China aim to achieve the target of 2 million hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2030 but still got various industrial barriers to overcome. We will continue to work with both energy team and leading UK companies to promote the collaboration.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
particularly in CAV testing and regulatory consulting services
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