West Midlands Mayor seeks Chinese investment for gigafactory

Mr Street has been lobbying to have a ‘gigafactory’ built in the West Midlands for some time now, with his bid seemingly receiving support from Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Conservative Party conference back in October.

Gigafactories are essentially a large manufacturing facility for electric batteries, and are thought to be an important part of the shift from petrol to electric vehicles.

Though they did not fully cost the plans in their election manifesto the Conservative government have signalled a willingness to build a gigafactory in the UK, with the West Midlands one of the regions being considered.

And the mayor has now decided to take matters into his own hands, using a visit to China to try and drum up investment in the project.

"It is no secret that the new Government will soon have to make a decision on where the UK’s first gigafactory is going to be built,” the mayor said.

"Location is everything when making such monumental decisions in industrial investment, and it is crucial that the West Midlands wins this argument.

"I believe, as the heartland of the UK’s automotive industry, that our region is the rightful home for a gigafactory.

"Employing more than 46,500 people, the West Midlands has an automotive cluster that features innovation centres, research centres, autonomous vehicle test beds, and major production plants.

"It was great to meet potential investors in China to discuss what more the West Midlands needs to do to attract a facility of this size. The WMCA and I will now continue to lobby government extensively to make sure we win the gigafactory race.”

Last month’s visit to China was the first time that senior leaders from the West Midlands’ three major cities visited the country as part of a sales mission to collectively promote the region’s investment opportunities, with Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward also joining the mayor on the trip.