Exciting investments in region's auto tech sector

A busy September for the UK automotive and electric vehicle technology sector has featured a series of exciting investment announcements for the Coventry & Warwickshire region.

Delegates from around the world gathered at the ICC in Birmingham for the inaugural global ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicle) Summit.

Organised by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), with support from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for International Trade, the summit was held to drive forward global zero emission vehicle take-up and put UK automotive technology in a global spotlight.

The event attracted delegates from global OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers - and coincided with some excellent news regarding EV investments for the Coventry & Warwickshire area.

Williams Engineering and Unipart announced the creation of Hyperbat, a new battery manufacturing facility in Coventry. The first customer will be Aston Martin Lagonda for its new RapideE premium EV, currently under development at Gaydon.

Meanwhile, EVN and Leclanché SA of France announced plans for an EV Charging Centre of Excellence in Warwick as part of an investment of around £200 million around the UK. EVN is actively developing 200 fast-charging stations throughout the country and Leclanché has been selected as their partner to supply battery backup for the planned ultra-fast chargers.

Further good news came from Geely’s London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) whose TX5 eCity battery hybrid taxi took pride of place at the ICC main entrance at the summit. LEVC, which is based at Ansty Technology Park, has announced trials with public and private partners of its new light commercial van, based on the TX5 EV platform.

At the ZEV summit, Chris Gubbey of LEVC spoke about the value of public private partnership, referring in particular to the GoElectric Taxi Scheme, the UK’s most extensive programme for encouraging taxi drivers to upgrade to an electric vehicle, which was launched in Coventry on September 5th.

The initiative, led by Coventry City council, is supported by a range of companies including, the  LEVC, Irish energy company ESB, Siemens and the taxi app Gett.

Elsewhere, Jaguar Land Rover’s Ralph Speth reaffirmed the company’s commitment to its UK home in Coventry. The company’s new i-Pace, developed in Coventry & Warwickshire, was on display at the summit.

Coventry & Warwickshire colleagues were delighted to support DIT with a delegation of Chinese OEMs and the not-for-profit group EV100, which works with government and industry to support the development of the EV industry. During the visit the group announced plans to establish an Esport (electric vehicles sports) industry in China, and spoke to a number of potential partners during the visit.

Looking ahead, preparations are advancing for the Greenfleet EV event at Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth on October 25th. This Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle event is being held in association with Warwickshire County Council, supported by OLEV, and will feature host auto journalist Quentin Wilson, presentations from the industry and OLEV, opportunities to test drive vehicles and round table break-out sessions.

For more information, please visit: http://warwickshire.greenfleet.net/