Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has warned on Wednesday the issues car manufacturers face as they move to electric vehicles will not be confined to Vauxhall’s owner Stellantis.
He said that minister did “everything we possibly” could to stop the close of the Luton plant which dates back to 1905.
Reynolds said the government are planning to review the ZEV mandate which sets out targets for carmakers to sell electric vehicles as the government are planning to ban the sale of new “purely petrol and diesel” cars by 2030.
Reynold said that Stellantis closing the Luton plant puts 1,100 jobs at risk and Ford is also planning to axe 800 jobs over the next three years.
Reynolds said, “These challenges are not confined to any one company.
“Car manufacturers around the world are battling with increased costs, supply chain issues and changing consumer demand in a highly competitive, fast-evolving market.”
He added: “Many of the challenges faced by our car manufacturers are global in nature and they cannot be resolved by UK government intervention alone.”
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith told MPs in the House of Commons on Wednesday the closure of the Luton factory is a “sad day.”
He said, “They are the most recent custodians in a long history that goes back to 1905 when their factory opened the doors for the first time.”
He then warned, this closure “is just a down payment on jobs that will be lost under this government’s relentless attacks on industry, its neglect of the realities of business, and its failure to meet its promise not to raise taxes.”
Griffith said the Stellantis decision also follows “a budget that has declared war on business.”
Reynolds fired back saying this is “the single most dishonest statement I have ever heard.”
