CHANCELLOR Jeremy Hunt has promised to speed up the production of electric vehicle batteries — after Vauxhall threatened to shut its British factories.
Stellantis, which owns Vauxhall, says a Brexit trade deal due to kick in next year must be renegotiated or it will face paying huge tariffs.
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From January 2024, at least 45 per cent of the value of an electric car should originate in the UK or EU, or 10 per cent charges will apply.
But because around half the value of an electric car is in its batteries, a lack of power cells made in Britain will force manufacturers to import them from further afield.
Transporting the heavy batteries also pushes up costs.
Stellantis, which also makes Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat cars and employs more than 5,000 people in the UK, had committed to making electric vehicles at its factories in Luton and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.
But it told MPs the Brexit terms were a “threat to our export business and the sustainability of our UK manufacturing”.
It said there is “insufficient” battery manufacturing and “we need to reinforce competitiveness of the UK by establishing battery production”.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the British Chambers of Commerce conference “to watch this space” in support of British electric vehicle makers.
He said: “We need batteries made within the UK, because it is important that they are located close to factories. We are focused on that.”
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The issue has been raised with the European Commission, a Government spokesman said.
BCC IN CBI PITCH
THE British Chambers of Commerce has made its pitch to replace the scandal-ridden CBI.
Director general Shevaun Haviland said: “Business needs a fresh relationship with government. At the British Chambers of Commerce, we are where business belongs.”
Ms Haviland would not comment on how many extra members the BCC had signed up.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Hunt said regulators “should understand their wider responsibility for economic growth”, in a dig at the UK competition authority after it blocked Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard in a £55billion deal.
JD’S £1BN PROFIT PUSH
JD SPORTS expects to make £1.03billion in profits this year as it pushes ahead with global expansion plans.
But new boss Regis Schultz warned that sneakerheads will face higher prices.
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He claimed the retailer’s young customer base could still afford to splash out on trainers, as their wages had increased and their parents were supporting them through the cost-of-living crisis.
Shares in JD Sports dropped 5 per cent yesterday, however, after it reported that statutory profits fell by a third to £440.9million.
The drop follows a £550million charge relating to selling some of its fashion brands at a loss — including Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green — and closing its South Korean business.
BANK ‘NOT SLOW’
BANK of England governor Andrew Bailey denied the Bank had been too slow to react to price rises.
Mr Bailey said that even with the benefit of hindsight, for the Bank to have kept inflation at around 2 per cent its rate would have had to be raised “well into double digits during the pandemic”.
It follows a 12th consecutive interest rate rise last week, by 0.25 per cent, to 4.5 per cent — a level last seen in 2008.
He added there were “good reasons to expect inflation to fall sharply over the coming months”, as energy prices fall.
PURPLE’S PAIN WITH SALE AT £1
PURPLEBRICKS, the online estate agent that was meant to shake up the property industry, has sold itself for just £1 to rival company Strike.
The troubled firm, which was once valued at £1.4billion, has been searching for a buyer after its turnaround plan flopped and it issued a string of profit warnings.
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Most shareholders will be wiped out after agreeing the takeover for a token sum, although boss Helena Marston said the deal represented a “solvent outcome” for the estate agent.
Strike is best known for offering owners the chance to sell their property for free.
Purplebricks shares had peaked at 500p-a-share in 2017 but they tumbled 43 per cent yesterday to just 0.75p.
One of its largest share-holders has been lobbying for the removal of its chairman Paul Pindar, accusing him of destroying the firm’s value.
LAND SLIP OF £1.5BN
BRITISH Land, owner of the Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield, has made a major £1.5billion write-down of the value of its property.
The move has resulted in the company swinging to a £1.04billion loss, down from a £965million profit a year ago.
The company blamed the sharp rise in interest rates for the hit, but bosses say they expect values to stabilise soon.
It comes as office rents begin to recover as workers return following the pandemic.
IT’S ALL BAR FUN
THE return of office working has boosted trade at All Bar One as more people raise a glass at the end of the day.
Mitchell’s & Butler, which also owns Harvester and Toby Carvery, has reported a rise in sales of 6.8 per cent in the last six weeks.
Total sales increased 10.6 per cent to £1.28billion in the last six months.
Higher energy costs saw profits fall from £57million to £40million in that period, although M&B is hopeful profit margins will soon return to pre-pandemic levels.
