According to a person with knowledge of the situation, India’s Tata is anticipated to declare on Wednesday that it has decided to develop an electric vehicle battery plant in Britain, a victory for the nation’s automotive industry in the face of fierce international competition.

When deciding where to assemble a new line of electric Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, Tata had to decide between a plant in Somerset, southwest England, and one in Spain.

A government representative and Tata both declined to comment on ongoing business negotiations or the article. On Tuesday, Bloomberg was the first to report that the factory announcement will take place this week.

The location of the facility being built by Tata, a conglomerate with holdings in software, steel, autos, and airlines, has been the subject of rumours for months.

The facility would be a significant victory for Britain, which is seeking to catch up in the race to construct EV battery capacity domestically. This capacity is crucial for automakers, who depend on large batteries being built close to their car factories.

The U.S.’s Inflation Reduction Act, which promises hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to green companies, has raised worries in Britain. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt stated that the government lacked substantial funds for equivalent measures.

Producing batteries domestically will also assist British automakers in adhering to post-Brexit trade regulations, which will force companies to source more electric car components locally in order to avoid tariffs on UK-EU commerce beginning in 2024.

The government earlier stated that it was in discussions with the EU about relaxing those regulations in response to a warning from vehicle manufacturer Stellantis that, in the event of tariffs, it would be forced to close plants and lose thousands of jobs.

According to the BBC, Tata would receive government subsidies totaling hundreds of millions of pounds.

“The decision by JLR to invest in battery production in the UK is very welcome. We will want to reflect, however, on the subsidy package that was required to secure this decision,” Darren Jones, chair of parliament’s business committee, said.

Tata’s decision to invest in Britain would also help Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration, which has promised to expand the economy and has announced a number of net zero objectives, including a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles starting in 2030.

Salamanca Group, a privately held merchant banking company, is the owner of the proposed property. When approached by Reuters, the organisation declined to comment.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)