Failed electric vehicle battery start-up Britishvolt’s collapse last week further soured the mood and reputation of Britain’s automotive industry after £120mln of debts were revealed.
Administrators from EY are looking to find a buyer for the collapsed operations, while the site in Northumberland has also been reported to have attracted interest, but is owned by a separate arm of the company.
Creditors owed £120mln may only be able to recover a fragment of their investments, sources told The Guardian.
Interest in the site has been reportedly received from Glencore and Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors, and Australian start-up Recharge Industries.
The hits to Britain’s auto sector filtered through to this week, when data released on Thursday showed that UK car production fell 17.9% year on year in December 2022, turning negative after experiencing growth in October and November, due mainly to underwhelming exports.
But, in an act of irony given Britishvolt’s collapse, UK factories produced a record amount of electric vehicles in 2022, growing 4.5% from 2021 and accounting for nearly one-third of total car production.
Britishvolt’s would-be competitor, the Sweden-based Northvolt, could potentially become a major supplier to what remains of the UK electric vehicle industry, which currently sources its batteries from Asia-based manufacturers.