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Supply Chain

The UK Wants In on Europe’s EV Club — and It Has a Point

By Stefano May 16, 2026 5 min read

Brexit may have redrawn the map, but it didn’t reroute the supply chains. Now Britain’s automotive lobby is in Brussels making the case that “Made in Europe” should still include the factory floor across the Channel.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has taken its argument directly to EU officials, pushing for UK operations to be recognised under the bloc’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act — a framework designed to speed up industrial investment and decarbonisation across automotive, steel, cement, and aluminium.

Why it matters:

  • The EU-UK automotive partnership is worth €80bn (~$94bn) annually — one of the most integrated cross-border manufacturing relationships in the world.
  • EU manufacturers ship €9.1bn worth of components to UK factories every year — more than to any other single market globally.
  • UK plants are the EU’s biggest export market for passenger cars, taking in €39.7bn worth each year.
  • Almost two-thirds (61.6%) of battery electric vehicles sold in the UK come from EU factories.

The crux of the issue: as drafted, the Industrial Accelerator Act would lock UK-based suppliers and assembly plants out of incentives tied to fleet electrification — a segment that accounts for roughly 60% of new car sales in the EU.

SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes put it plainly: “If the Industrial Accelerator Act proceeds as drafted, it threatens to reverse progress, undermining the Trade and Cooperation Agreement all sides worked so hard to deliver and jeopardising our respective competitiveness, damaging jobs, investment and innovation.”

Bigger picture: Both the UK and EU are feeling the heat from lower-cost Chinese EVs gaining ground fast. Industry groups on both sides of the Channel argue that fragmented industrial policy only hands Beijing a bigger advantage. The SMMT is calling for amendments that would keep UK operations recognised as Made in Europe partners — not as a favour, but as a competitive necessity.

What to watch: Whether the European Commission softens the Act’s eligibility criteria before it’s finalised. For now, Brussels is listening — but the clock is ticking.

S
Author
Stefano