Discussions on the future of Toyota’s Burnaston plant are set to begin at the end of this year, with the lack of battery plant investment in the UK highlighted as the biggest “challenge” that must be overcome as the firm weighs up switching it to EV production.
Outlining the timeline for discussions and the issues that must be addressed, Matt Harrison, chief operating officer at Toyota Motor Europe, said: “There are some challenges for the UK. Brexit less so: that adds one or two complications, but we think they can be overcome, although we need to study the rules of origin now in more detail. But the battery investments and where they're going in Europe is an issue. The centre of gravity seems to be central Europe, and the UK hasn't been so successful so far.”
Harrison underlined that there was still time to evaluate the situation as a result of Toyota's success with hybrid sales - but stressed that proposed mandates to rapidly scale the proportion of EVs sold from 22% to 80% by 2030 in the UK would bring added pressure to the decision-making process.
“People say we're slow to move, but the truth is we’re in a different situation from our rivals," he said. "They're
