“BMW’s investment is a huge vote of confidence in this country as a global leader in electric vehicles,” said Jeremy Hunt, as the German car giant backed the production of electric Minis in Oxford. A touch of political hyperbole is understandable since the plant would have been a very bad one for the UK to lose, but the chancellor is overdoing things.
It is obviously welcome news that about 4,000 jobs will be saved in Oxford and Swindon, where the panels are made. And, by recent yardsticks of taxpayer subsidy, the reported £75m contribution to the overall £600m investment almost counts as modest. It’s just the chancellor’s claim that the UK car manufacturing is now “motoring” requires context.
