The Automotive Transformation Fund is a programme that aims to establish a competitive and sustainable UK Supply Chain.
It offers a share of up to £1 billion of funding for industrial research and capital projects to support the industrialisation of a high-value, electrified automotive supply at scale.
This is an expression of interest (EoI) competition and companies have until 14th October to submit applications as per the below:
- Projects must have an automotive application.
- Organisations can submit more than one application. Each application can focus on:
- research and development (R&D) only
- capital investment only or
- both R&D and capital investment.
Proposals must prioritise the scale up in areas mentioned in the Automotive Transformation Strategy. This includes but is not limited to:
- Batteries
- Motors and Drives
- Power Electronics
- Fuel Cell
- Recycling of any of the above.
This is in addition to a £140M third allocation from Welsh Government under its Economic Resilience Fund to support businesses struggling with the effects of the lockdowns and pandemic on their working and sales.
It is split between £80M for business development grants and £60M allocated for organisations affected by lockdowns.
The National Franchised Dealers Association representing franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK welcomed the Prime Minister’s “Skills Speech”.
Speaking from Exeter College, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “We will be expanding apprenticeships, reforming the system so that unspent funds can be used more easily to support apprenticeships not just in big companies, but in the SMEs where there is so much potential for job creation”.
He added: “We are short of skilled construction workers, and skilled mechanics, and skilled engineers, and we are short of hundreds of thousands of IT experts. And it is not as though the market does not require these skills. The market will pay richly”.
Sue Robinson, NFDA Director, responded, “NFDA has been lobbying the Government on behalf of our members to extend the time period for the usage of the apprenticeship levy.
“As a result, it is encouraging that the Prime Minister has announced that the Government is considering reforming the current apprenticeship system.
“Attracting young people to our industry and providing them with the opportunity to gain technical skills has been a key focus for NFDA and something we have been highlighting over the past years through the continued success of Drive My Career”.
In addition to helping businesses reach young people, Drive My Career allows potential candidates to explore career paths in the industry, understand training and skills gaps they may have, and enables them to connect with prospective employers within franchised dealer groups.
Sue Robinson added, “NFDA will continue to obtain crucial dealer feedback via the HR Working Group and liaise with the relevant Government departments”.