Prime Minister remains supportive of taxi manufacturers and ZEC tech despite EU tariff concerns
The Government remains supportive of electric taxi manufacturer LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) and other green hybrid and battery vehicle technology, says the Prime Minister.
During a House of Commons debate yesterday, the Prime Minister was quizzed on the topic of electric taxi components and vehicles being able to move tariff free between the UK and other countries of the European Union (EU) once the UK leaves the current EU trade deal.
During the debate Boris Johnson said any such deal would benefit everyone, but the decision remains with the EU.
The PM also highlighted more grants, worth £49million, will be pumped into environmentally friendly vehicles so that the country can ‘bounce back greener’.
Mark Pawsey, Conservative MP for Rugby, asked: “The Prime Minister will remember watching the new electric London taxi being made in my constituency. He will be pleased to hear that the company has this week started production of a van, but this year has been tough for the automotive sector, with manufacturing output at its lowest level for 25 years.
“It would benefit massively from the certainty of knowing that components and vehicles will be able to move free of tariffs between the UK and countries of the European Union from the new year. Can the Prime Minister provide good news about concluding a deal with the EU to the sector, its workers and their families?”
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister, replied: “I do indeed believe that such a deal would be massively in the interests of our EU friends and partners, as well as anybody else, but that is of course up to them.
“What I can tell my hon. Friend is that we are supporting green technology of all kinds, particularly hybrid and battery vehicles, and we have just put another £49 million into grants for exactly the kind of vehicles that he and I have inspected and driven together so that this country can bounce back greener.”
This time last year LEVC welcomed the Prime Minister to Ansty, Coventry for a tour of its state-of-the-art facility, the first production plant in the UK dedicated to the manufacture of electric vehicles.
Hosted by Joerg Hofmann, LEVC CEO, the Prime Minister was said to be highly supportive of the business and its products, describing the TX electric taxis as “magnificent machines”.
