2 min read - 10 Aug, 2026
Britain’s automotive sector to benefit from £130m investment
Britain’s automotive sector is set to benefit from nearly £130m of industry-matched funding, helping to ramp up cutting-edge new zero emission vehicle technologies and support skilled jobs nationwide.
Delivered through the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, the funding will support over 1,800 high-value manufacturing jobs and thousands more across the supply chain.
Nearly £50m of government funding has been awarded to auto firms and R&D partners to help build and produce the zero emission vehicle technologies of the future at scale, from self-driving cars to more affordable EVs.
This latest funding is delivered through the DRIVE35 programme, a UK government initiative providing up to £4bn in capital and R&D funding through to 2035. It supports the automotive sector’s transition to zero emission vehicles and is billed as the largest government investment into the UK’s car industry of the post-war era.
Almost £65m of government funding, matched by industry, will drive cutting-edge zero emission projects, from self-driving cars to more affordable EVs.
This builds on £100m of DRIVE35 grant funding already being delivered to supply chain businesses in the North East and West Midlands, including flagship recipients Turntide Technologies and Bentley.
A further £17m has been allocated to nine successful connected and automated mobility (CAM) pathfinder projects, paving the way for innovators to develop, test and scale cutting-edge transport technologies. The SMMT estimates the CAM industry could add £66bn to the UK economy and create tens of thousands of high-quality jobs by 2040.
Ian Constance, chief executive at the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, said: “The projects announced today demonstrate the depth of innovation and engineering excellence that exists across the UK automotive sector. Through DRIVE35, we are supporting businesses to move promising technologies to commercial deployment and manufacturing at scale.
“This investment is about far more than individual projects. It is about strengthening the UK’s capability to design, develop and build the technologies that will define the vehicles of the future. By bringing together industry, government and academia, DRIVE35 is helping create the conditions for long-term growth, increasing investor confidence and reinforcing the UK’s position as one of the world’s leading destinations for automotive innovation.”
