Overview
- The government announced the package on Monday, combining nearly £65 million of public grants with matching industry investment to total roughly £130 million for automotive tech and manufacturing.
- Nearly £50 million of government money is being allocated directly to automotive firms and research partners to scale zero‑emission vehicle components while over £47 million will fund 33 Drive35 projects across Mobilise, Collaborate, Demonstrate and Scale‑up streams.
- A separate £17 million CAM Pathfinder allocation will back nine connected and automated mobility trials led by partners such as Nissan and Cambridge‑linked consortia to test sensors, brake‑by‑wire and AI systems in transport and construction settings.
- The programme is administered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK and Innovate UK, and officials say the round is expected to safeguard about 1,800 manufacturing jobs.
- Drive35 sits inside a longer term £4 billion industrial plan to onshore batteries, boost supply‑chain resilience and leverage private co‑investment with the aim of moving technologies from lab demonstrations into commercial scale production.