Our car industry is in crisis as ‘Brits don’t want EVs’, Ford boss warns – just days after firm axed 800 jobs

BRITAIN'S car manufacture is successful situation arsenic buyers don't privation electrical vehicles, Ford's UK brag has warned.

Lisa Brankin, the chairwoman and managing manager of Ford UK, says the authorities needs to connection incentives similar taxation breaks to get radical buying EVs.

She said a mandate to nutrient and merchantability much EVs "just doesn't work" and determination needed to beryllium a fiscal incentive.

Brankin's comments travel aft Stellantis, the proprietor of Vauxhall, said it would adjacent its works successful Luton, putting 1,100 jobs astatine risk.

Stellantis, who are Europe's second-biggest shaper of cars, had been weighing up their options aft months of discussions with the UK authorities implicit their electrification rules.

Brankin said Ford had invested £350m connected producing electrical cars successful the UK but inactive had to chopped 800 jobs implicit the adjacent 3 years.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today: "The 1 happening that we truly request is government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electrical vehicles.

"As an manufacture we person repeatedly said that we enactment the Government's trajectory and we enactment the ambition that the Government has acceptable out, it's conscionable that determination isn't lawsuit demand."

Brankin said the authorities needed to person drivers to marque the power and that she was good with its greenish ambitions.

The Government has committed to banning the acquisition of caller petrol and diesel cars successful 2030.

Hybrids volition inactive beryllium connected merchantability until 2035.

At Question Time contiguous Tory Party person Kemi Badenoch queried Sir Keir Starmer astir the Government's car strategy.

She said: "Does the Prime Minister basal by his committedness to prohibition the merchantability of petrol cars by 2030 adjacent if much jobs volition beryllium lost?"

The Prime Minister replied: "The question of the presumption of jobs successful Luton is simply a precise superior 1 and families and workers volition beryllium precise disquieted and we're evidently engaging with them.

"I would punctual the person of the Opposition that the EV (electric vehicle) mandates that are an contented successful this peculiar lawsuit were really introduced by the past government.

"I would besides punctual her that she was the concern caput that introduced them."

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said pursuing Stellantis' closure announcement was a “very hard time for Luton”.

Stellantis has said it volition harvester the remaining accumulation from Luton with its different works successful Ellesmere Port.

Vauxhall, who person tally for 167 years, are 1 of the UK's best-known car manufacturers.

Their existent scope includes the Astra, Corsa, Mokka, Crossland and Grandland, arsenic good arsenic the precocious revised Frontera.

This comes arsenic Stellantis' rival Volkswagen announced they volition unopen astatine slightest 3 of its factories successful Germany and laic disconnected tens of thousands of staff.

The German car-making giants volition besides shrink their remaining plants and chopped unit wage by 10% successful a deeper-than-expected overhaul of 1 of the world's astir recognisable brands.