The UK Labour Party unveiled on Monday its plan for the country’s automotive sector, which includes the reinstating of the 2030 ban on new ICE car and van sales, Kallanish reports.

“Labour knows that business needs certainty and stability from government policy, and we would guarantee this for the UK automotive sector. We believe that the 2030 deadline is the right policy which industry was confident of hitting,” the plan states. “Pushing back the date of the phase-out will raise costs for British families by billions of pounds because electric vehicles have cheaper lifetime costs than petrol cars, and by 2030 are expected to have lower upfront costs.”

“We will oppose the government’s plans to water it down in parliament and, through our industrial strategy, a future Labour government would work with industry to proceed with hitting those targets,” it continues.

The strategy seeks to create 80,000 new jobs, power 2 million EVs and add £16 billion ($19.54 billion) to the economy, giving both consumers and industry the confidence to reach the net-zero targets. If elected, a Labour government would “drive the automotive industry into the future by accelerating domestic battery-making capacity, investing in gigafactories, and removing planning barriers to get shovels in the ground,” says Jonathan Reynolds, shadow secretary for business and industrial strategy.

“As the world pivots to generating electric vehicles, the UK automotive industry should be poised to jump at that opportunity. But years of neglect under the Conservatives risk leaving the UK automotive industry being lapped by competitor countries,” he adds.

Citing the need for 200 gigawatt-hours of domestic battery manufacturing capacity to maintain the UK EV production, the Labour Party says it will part-finance new, additional gigafactories required to hit that target. This will be done through the National Wealth Fund, although further details are to be disclosed.

A new category of “Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects” for growth industries, including gigafactories, would be created to simplify and speed up approvals for these “critical projects.” The strategy also includes a spatial plan identifying sites that could meet size and energy demands.

On the charging front, the Labour Party proposes to set new binding targets for the roll-out of charging infrastructure and remove barriers to “turbocharge” planning permissions and deployment. Some of these barriers include height restrictions for rapid chargers.

To increase consumer confidence, the strategy proposes a battery health certification scheme, and standardise information on charging infrastructure in one single app. The plan doesn’t mention a potential reduction in VAT on public charging, nor purchase incentives/subsidies.

Yet, it promises to provide 10-year automotive R&D funding decisions (matched to that already given to aerospace); develop a Growth and Skills Levy to tackle the estimated 25,100 EV-trained technicians gap by 2030; and secure an agreement with the EU to delay the implementation date of the rules of origin.

Quentin Willson, founder of the EV campaign group FairCharge, believes the ambitions offer certainty for the car industry and buying confidence for consumers. “I’ve heard some good ideas today – not least giving buyers insights into the state of battery health on used EVs, targets for local council charger roll-out and the speeding up of connections for motorway chargers. Compared to the Conservatives’ fossil fuel favouring policies, Labour’s electrification strategy has shown vision and leadership,” he comments.