Chinese firm eyes massive Coventry gigafactory, as UK–China relations plummet

A Chinese corporate giant is on the brink of a massive investment into Coventry, it has been revealed, as the debate grows over the threat posed by China towards the UK.

First reported by The Sunday Times, EVE Energy is in “advanced negotiations” to construct what would be the largest gigafactory in the country at Coventry Airport, in a £1.2 billion investment.

The company, based in Guangdong, China, is the world’s largest producer of electric vehicle batteries. For the last 18 months, it has supplied British car manufacturer BMW with large cylindrical batteries for its line of electric cars.

The deal is the result of months of closely-guarded talks, involving local and government officials. All parties involved have declined to publicly comment on the negotiations.

It has been hailed as a “major coup” for the British govt, should it go ahead. A finalised agreement could be signed “within weeks,” bringing over 6,000 jobs to the West Midlands.

We are all working incredibly hard to make that happen, as part of the wider plans to create a UK Centre for Electrification and Clean Energy

Andy Street, West Midlands Mayor

For the region’s Mayor, Andy Street, who has been a “pivotal” broker between the various parties, this would also be a significant triumph, as he faces his own re-election battle in May.

Whilst he would not be drawn to comment further, the Mayor told the Coventry Telegraph that: “The West Midlands is the UK’s automotive heartland, and the logical home for the country’s next Gigafactory.

“We are all working incredibly hard to make that happen, as part of the wider plans to create a UK Centre for Electrification and Clean Energy.”

But the deal, contingent on hundreds of millions of pounds worth of government investment, has emerged at an acutely difficult time for UK–China relations.

On March 25, a day after The Sunday Times report, the British government formally accused China of responsibility for a 2021 cyberattack that compromised the names and addresses of 40 million British citizens.

It further emerged that at least 30 British MPs, peers, and parliamentary staffers had been targeted by cyberattacks allegedly instigated by the Chinese state.

Speaking in Parliament, Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, said that: “Taken together, the United Kingdom judges that these actions demonstrate a clear and persistent pattern of behaviour that signals hostile intent from China.”

It has even been suggested that China could somehow remotely control electric vehicles that use the country’s technology

Fears have been raised over the economic influence that the gigafactory deal would give China in the West Midlands.

It has even been suggested that China could somehow remotely control electric vehicles that use the country’s technology, posing a major security risk.

China, for its part, has ridiculed all suggestions of interference in UK domestic affairs. A statement from the Chinese embassy in London said: “We are neither interested in, nor required to, interfere in Britain’s internal affairs.

“Whether the British government is good or bad, the British public will reach their conclusion soon enough,” it added, in an apparent swipe at the governing Conservative Party’s popularity.