The true impact of Net Zero revealed as Britain's £92billion industry teeters on the edge
The true impact of Britain's drive towards Net Zero has been revealed, with the nation's £92billion car industry seeing production drop by nearly 60 per cent in the last 10 years.
The exclusive report has been provided to GB News by Facts4EU, in collaboration with Stand for Our Sovereignty and The Campaign for an Independent Britain.
According to the think-tank, UK is producing 1 million fewer cars than it was a decade ago.
Former Conservative minister Lord Redwood told the People's Channel: “Facts4EU are right to expose the deliberate destruction of a whole industry in the name of Net Zero.
“This country has long been an important centre for making petrol and diesel cars. The EU and government policy has been - and is - to close every plant making these vehicles and to ban new ones by 2030.
“Mr Miliband insists on this unique harm even after the EU has relented slightly and given the industry five more years of life on the continent.
“Why does the UK government want to do this and why has the industry been accomplice to this disaster for jobs and consumer choice?”
According to the International Atomic Energy’s latest report, China continues to dominate production of electric cars, while the UK has hit reverse, despite billions in taxpayer subsidies.
The Chinese produced 12 million electric cars in 2024, which was 70 per cent of global production, while the UK produced 80,000.
While countries such as the United States and European Union member states slap tariffs on electric cars, the UK does not, as Ed Miliband is keen on getting electric vehicles on British roads.
Lord Redwood continued: “The government ordered the industry to produce battery cars. This requires completely new assembly lines, factories and suppliers.
“The UK is miles behind China in designing and developing EVs. The UK did not move quickly to secure supplies of lithium, rare earths, cobalt, copper, nor to put in battery-making capacity. The Chinese did.
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“So today the Government encourages mass imports of cheaper battery cars from China tariff-free alongside importing their solar panels and wind turbines.
“Net Zero policies are de-industrialising the UK at a terrifying pace, with Mr Miliband the cheerleader.
“Jaguar is spending more than two years producing no cars at all and may emerge as a producer of very small numbers of very dear battery cars as a result of these policies.”
In recent years, Nissan has halved production in Sunderland, Honda closed its final factory in the UK, and Vauxhall only makes electric vans in the UK.
Jaguar has stopped production of petrol and diesel cars, but it is building a battery plant in Somerset. Ford also closed its engine production in Wales, while Toyota runs on limited output in Burnaston.
The automotive industry is a vital part of the UK economy. According to the SMMT’s latest report, the inudstry made a £92billion turnover, £25billion in value added to the UK economy, and £5billion in Research and Development (R&D) investments, with 183,000 people employed directly in manufacturing and 796,000 across the wider automotive industry.
Many of these jobs are outside London and the South-East, with wages higher than the UK average.
The sector accounts for 13.4 per cent of total UK exports of goods, selling to more than 140 countries.
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