The Government has approved a £10 million loan to a subsidiary owned by Indian carmaker Tata, to encourage the development of electric cars.
The loan will go to the Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) based at the University of Warwick in Coventry. The loan is funded through the Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP), which was set up to support investment in a lower carbon future for the industry, and will help further TMETC development of new electric cars designed from scratch.
The £10 million from Government is added to the £25 million of investment already secured from Tata Motors to aid its subsidiary develop and manufacture electric vehicles in the UK.
The award of the AAP loan comes as the UK Government attempts to assert its commitment to the development of low-carbon vehicles and to the reduction of C02 emissions. The AAP scheme launched earlier this year, is intended to support auto companies invest in greener products and processes. The loan to Tata marks the first award under the scheme since it was announced in January.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “The government is determined to help the car industry to exploit fully the opportunities offered by green manufacturing. Today we are backing Tata as Tata backs Britain.
“This loan will strengthen our electric vehicle manufacturing expertise, securing and creating high value engineering jobs in the West Midlands. TMETC will continue to invest in R&D in the next generation of sustainable transport, helping it become a lead player in this exciting and important technological area.”
Tata Motors has already developed a 4-seater electric vehicle, based on the Tata Indica Vista passenger car which was launched in India last year. The Indica Vista electric vehicle has a range of up to 200km and a top speed of 104kph (electronically limited) and will be in production before the end of 2009.
