Last week, the Government announced £4.5 billion of investment
for British manufacturing to boost economic growth, as part of
wider government support to ensure the UK is the best place to
start, grow, and invest in manufacturing. Funding will be
delivered to eight sectors that are key to economic growth,
energy security, and levelling up, including up to £150 million
for Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) to 2030.
This landmark funding package forms a part of the Advanced Manufacturing
Plan, which sets out government’s plans for investing in the
future of manufacturing, opening markets, and removing obstacles
for business. This Government funding for CAM will be matched by
industry and enable the UK’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous
Vehicles (CCAV) to cement the UK’s place among world leaders for
designing, developing, deploying, and manufacturing self-driving
technologies, products, and services.
CCAV is working to create an early commercial market and secure
first mover advantage in the deployment of self-driving vehicles
and services, building on around £600 million of joint investment
with industry in over 100 projects across the UK since 2015.
The latest research suggests the economic benefits of CAM for the
UK could be £66 billion per year and 342,000 additional jobs by
2040 if government intervenes appropriately in policy,
regulation, funding (de-risking globally mobile investment),
skills, and public communication[1].
This funding will boost the UK’s development and implementation
of CAM, transforming how we get around, making journeys safer,
more convenient, and more accessible while also creating highly
skilled jobs and helping to grow the UK economy.
As announced in the King’s Speech on Tuesday 7 November,
government’s new Automated Vehicles (AV) Bill will deliver one of
the most comprehensive legal frameworks of its kind, anywhere in
the world, for self-driving vehicles with safety and innovation
at its core.
This funding, complemented by enabling legislation, is crucial
for a UK CAM sector that is broader than privately owned vehicles
and robo-taxis, and includes the logistics, mass transit, mining,
agriculture, and defence sectors.
This programme will focus on the highest potential economic and
societal impact opportunities for the UK in the early
commercialisation of these technologies, whilst also ensuring
these are safe and secure for all. It will target market segments
and capabilities for which the UK currently has comparative
and/or competitive advantage, or where targeted investment could
achieve such advantage in the global value chain.
CCAV will also consider the need for a Centre of Excellence for
UK Connected and Automated Mobility to work with departments and
organisations, focussing on coordination challenges and to
strengthen the capabilities, skills, and public engagement. The
Centre will work closely with Government to support SME access to
finance, international engagement, and exports.
[1]
https://www.smmt.co.uk/2023/11/connected-and-automated-mobility-revolution-set-to-deliver-66-billion-prize-by-2040/
