Give automotive makers a break: Relaxing EV targets will assist producers meet the problem from China, says ALEX BRUMMER

The revival of car making in the UK is a great triumph. Overseas ownership injected new life into exports and a sector which looked doomed after the union travails of the late 20th century.

BMW’s ownership of the ubiquitous Mini, Nissan in the North East, Tata at Jaguar Land Rover and demand for luxury brands Rolls-Royce and Bentley put a zip into UK manufacturing.

In spite of all the noise made in and after the Brexit vote, output climbed to a peak of 1.7m vehicles in 2019, according to Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) data. It was brought to a shuddering halt by the pandemic.

EV targets: A car on the production line at  Nissan’s Sunderland plant.  Nissan is at the forefront of the effort to persuade Labour to relax EV rules or face a dial down in investment plans

The big uncertainty hanging over the sector now is testing electric vehicle (EV) targets. 

It is the same for much of Europe which is struggling with EV transition and the abundance of cheaper Chinese vehicles, with the trusted MG marque – now owned by China’s SAIC Motor Corporation – popular in the UK. 

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s pledge of ‘flexibilities’ offers some hope that manufacturers can reach their goals.

But electric vehicles account for just 18 per cent of new car sales in 2024. The idea of hitting a target of 28 per cent in 2025 and an end to the sale of all diesel and petrol cars by 2030 looks hugely challenging. 

Nissan is at the forefront of the effort to persuade Labour to relax EV rules or face a dial down in investment plans. 

It deserves a loud voice as it employs 30,000 staff in Sunderland and through UK supply chains, and has invested £6billion in the country.

A Labour government committed to ramping up growth and closing the economic chasm between London, the South East and the rest of the country must listen.

Putting aside questions as to whether the inputs into EVs are genuinely green, given the sources of some of the battery components, the economics are a nightmare. 

Swedish-based European battery champion Northvolt is struggling to meet production targets and on the verge of Chapter 11. 

The Government is investing alongside JLR and Nissan in fuel cell manufacturing but whether Western producers can meet the Beijing challenge is questionable.

Across the Atlantic, Tesla, Rivian and other EV makers are lobbying the incoming Trump administration to keep in place Biden-era subsidies. 

It would be a disaster if a UK government, committed to net zero, were to allow revived car making design and skills to be sacrificed on an ill-conceived timetable which can only cede initiative to the People’s Republic.

Hargreaves shame

As a client of the do-it-yourself investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, it is hard not to be critical of the way it guided 300,000 of us, and £1.6billion of hard-earned savings, into Neil Woodford’s failed equity income fund.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) did its best to force Woodford’s authorised corporate director Link Fund Solutions to pay-up, but most clients are still sitting on heavy Woodford losses. And the opportunity cost of returns lost since the 2019 closure of the fund are enormous.

Claims firm RGL management is taking up the cudgels against Hargreaves on behalf of 5,000 investors. 

But how much stronger the case would be if the FCA, which pledged a full investigation when Bank of England governor Andew Bailey was in charge, had released its findings and taken regulatory action against Hargreaves.

It was no accident that Woodford funds were enthusiastically endorsed by HL’s ‘wealth list’ right up until the implosion or that so many savers were exposed the platform’s house funds.

In a recent interview with the FT, the billionaire joint founder of HL, Peter Hargreaves, described himself as ‘seriously f****** p***** off’ by events, but added ‘[HL] didn’t do anything wrong’.

It is preposterous that HL is now being allowed to sell itself to a private equity consortium headed by CVC partners for £5.4billion. 

Hargreaves becomes ever richer, while ordinary savers (including this writer) have been left up a creek with a broken paddle. Disgraceful.

Space grab

JP Morgan reportedly has grown out of its 1.1m square foot European HQ in Canary Wharf.

It is looking for 1.5m to 2m square feet of space in the area for its growing headcount of investment bankers and retail colleagues servicing the Chase online brand. 

So much for Brexit undermining the Square Mile as a financial power house.