Britain’s West Midlands, the epicenter of a car industry that once employed a million people, is pressuring Indian industrial conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to open a motorcycle factory in the area as Mayor Andy Street seeks to restore its manufacturing power.
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(Bloomberg) – Britain’s West Midlands region, the epicenter of a car industry that once employed a million people, is pressuring Indian industrial conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. to open a motorcycle factory in the area as Mayor Andy Street seeks to restore its manufacturing power. .
Street, the former head of retailer John Lewis Plc, is targeting Mahindra in a bid to lure carmakers with incentives while promoting expertise from a wider Midlands region still home to more than 400 specialist companies, including Aston Martin Lagonda and India. Jaguar Land Rover.
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Mahindra already has a car research center near Coventry after reviving the dormant BSA brand of motorcycles since 1973, although its first model, the 650cc Gold Star, is currently slated to be built only in India.
“Mahindra is committed to R&D at the moment. Hopefully we persuade them to commit to manufacturing,” said Street, a Tory who was elected the West Midlands’ first mayor in 2017 after a shock victory in what had been the heart of Labour.
Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city and at the heart of the region, is currently hosting UK House, a conference to promote trade and investment alongside the Commonwealth Games where Street has courted manufacturers and businesses to qu ‘they settle.
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battery factory
The mayor is also aiming for JLR, the UK’s largest automaker and controlled by Mumbai-based Tata Motors Ltd., to commit to building batteries at a site at Coventry airport dubbed the West Midlands. Gigafactory.
He says the West Midlands Authority has a financial package in place to make the case for JLR, bolstered by the benefits of a skilled workforce and ready location.
Bloomberg reported in May that JLR was in talks with European battery makers Northvolt AB and SVolt Energy Technology Co. for a range of electric vehicles it could assemble in Slovakia. Street said JLR has committed to making electric vehicles at its Solihull factory, but has not yet made a decision on batteries.
Street, who is backing Liz Truss in the Tory leadership race, said he would ask the next prime minister to increase support for the auto industry, including funding suppliers switching to electric vehicles and setting up place of a recharging infrastructure.
Norton, Enfield
The UK motorcycle industry is seeing a revival of classic brands, a number of which are owned by Indian companies.
Chennai-based TVS Motor Co. bought Norton Motorcycles in 2020 and has a manufacturing plant in Solihull, with plans for a range of UK-built e-bikes. Royal Enfield, another historic brand, is owned by the Indian company Eicher Motors Ltd. and has a technical center in Leicestershire, in the East Midlands.
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