Advantage West Midlands, with initial support from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), today announced an £80 million programme to encourage West Midlands automotive companies to conduct further research and development into low carbon vehicle technologies.
The programme will create a Low Carbon Vehicle Development and Proving Centre which will link high tech research with manufacturing. It will have a particular emphasis in developing new drive trains and lightweight structures and will link up with similar programmes elsewhere in the UK. It will also build on similar, successful programmes such as the Premium Automotive R&D programme based at Warwick University and the £12.5 million Centre of Excellence in Lightweight Vehicle Technologies announced earlier this summer.
West Midlands companies are globally recognised brands and bywords for cutting edge technology. They and their supply chains will benefit from these initiatives to extend this international reputation and will cement the region’s position as a world leader in vehicle technologies.
The commitment, comprising £30 million from AWM and an initial £50 million from JLR, is expected to grow over the coming months as discussions conclude with other automotive businesses from across the West Midlands and the UK.
Minister for the West Midlands Ian Austin MP, who announced the programme at Land Rover in Solihull said, "I think this is really good news for the West Midlands and I am delighted to see firms like JLR make this serious commitment to clean technologies.
"I want our region to lead the way in developing the new technologies and creating the new jobs on which our prosperity will depend in the future and it is exactly the sort of step we need to make if we are going to make sure we have the high-tech innovative industries and highly-skilled and well-paid jobs of the future here in the West Midlands.
"Today's announcement will also ensure that our region and the UK as a whole continue to lead the world in developing new automotive technologies"
David Smith, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, said: "It is important for government to recognise the importance of investment now for the future and I am delighted this initiative by Advantage West Midland will bring support to the international competitiveness of our automotive industry by focusing particularly on the high skill level we have in this region with vital future technologies. For Jaguar Land Rover today's announcement is a natural extension of the £800 million investment we have already made in developing environmental technologies, such as light-weighting of vehicle components, electrification, advanced combustion and intelligent telematics. These and many other technologies that will become reality through such initiatives, will greatly increase the efficiency of future vehicles."
Mick Laverty, Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands, added “The West Midlands is embracing the opportunities of the low carbon era and we are delighted to work with leading companies such as JLR in this area.”
“The new programme brings with it huge opportunities for the West Midlands which is why we are committing ourselves to this investment to support our industry led projects and our region’s needs.”
Iain Gray, CEO of the Technology Strategy Board, said: “this is an important step in the development of the national Low Carbon Vehicles programme and we look forward to the programmes this enhanced capability will enable in both the region and the country”