The British government is talking to a number of key suppliers about opening new UK plants to boost the local content of cars produced in the country.
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, attracting key suppliers is seen by the coalition government as the vital next step in growing the UK’s revitalised car industry.
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Talks with multinational suppliers are understood to be advanced and moves to establish new factories could create.
Jaguar Land Rover, Vauxhall, Nissan, Honda and Toyota are playing a role in the talks because they want to cut costs by sourcing more parts locally. A number of supplier have closed their UK operations over the past few decades. Bosch closed its last remaining British factory in June 2011.
Last week General Motors decided to keep its Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire open beyond 2014 and the company said the plant would increase the percentage of parts it buys from the UK to 25%.
More than GBP4bn (US$6.3bn) of new investment has been committed to the UK by car makers in the past year, but the government still wants to attract new suppliers. As well as Bosch, foreign parts makers who are being targeted include Siemens, Continental and ZF Friedrichshafen.
