Investment announced
The government announced almost £130 million of investment to ramp up new zero-emission vehicle technologies on 10 August 2026. The announcement stated that the investment will support over 1,800 high-value manufacturing jobs, with additional, unspecified jobs in the supply chain. The package was described as delivering funding through the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and specifically through the DRIVE35 programme.
Programme delivery and funding breakdown
Almost £65 million of government funding, matched by industry, will drive cutting-edge zero-emission projects, from self-driving cars to more affordable EVs, the announcement said. Auto firms and key R&D partners were awarded nearly £50 million in government funding to help businesses build and produce zero-emission vehicle technologies at scale. The announcement set out that the DRIVE35 programme is the biggest government investment into the UK’s car industry of the post-war era, with a £4 billion commitment to 2035.
Connected and Automated Mobility funding
The Government is injecting £17 million into nine Connected and Automated Mobility Pathfinder projects for research and development, testing and scaling of transport technologies. The 2026/27 CAM Pathfinder Programme will fund nine new projects covering enabling technologies such as sensors, brake-by-wire systems and AI simulation and deployment in public transport, passenger mobility, construction, airport operations and highways maintenance, the announcement noted.
Project winners and lead partners
The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, in partnership with Innovate UK, is facilitating the funding. The APC listed project winners and lead partners across multiple competitions and programmes. Lead partners named in the announcement include Turntide Technologies, Bentley Motors Limited, Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK and Five AI (Bosch Mobility) among others.
Project winners of the DRIVE35 R&D competitions included lead partners in the Scale-up fund such as Avid – Turntide Technologies, EMPEL Systems, Cornish Lithium, Strip Tinning Limited and Watercycle Technologies Limited. Collaborating lead partners listed included Q5D Technologies Limited and Bentley Motors Limited. Demonstrated lead partners named included Deepform Limited, YASA Limited, Thermulon Limited, Anaphite Limited, Hyster-Yale Limited, Nexperia UK Limited, Watercycle Technologies Limited, Eatron Technologies Limited, Electra Commercial Vehicles Limited and Green Tech Industries Limited.
CAM Pathfinder lead partners included Gravis Robotics Limited, Cambridge County Council, Alcon Advanced Technologies, Five AI (Bosch Mobility), Aurrigo, Oxford RF, Calyo, Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK and Ringway Infrastructure Services. Mobilise project winners named lead partners such as Loop52 Limited, Cooled Motors Limited, Xerode, AIRS ML Limited, Aftrak Limited, Electric Aviation Group Limited, Ocrea Energy Limited and Secure Elements Limited.
Industry Minister Blair McDougall said: Britain invented the modern motor industry and we’re determined to ensure the next generation of vehicles are designed and built here too. This investment will secure skilled jobs, strengthen our manufacturing heartlands and help drive the reindustrialisation of Britain. Through our Modern Industrial Strategy, we’re backing working people and British businesses to deliver growth in every part of the country.
Ian Constance, Chief Executive at the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, said: The projects announced today demonstrate the depth of innovation and engineering excellence that exists across the UK automotive sector. Through DRIVE35, we are supporting businesses to move promising technologies to commercial deployment and manufacturing at scale. This investment is about far more than individual projects. It is about strengthening the UK’s capability to design, develop and build the technologies that will define the vehicles of the future. By bringing together industry, government and academia, DRIVE35 is helping create the conditions for long-term growth, increasing investor confidence and reinforcing the UK’s position as one of the world’s leading destinations for automotive innovation.
- Almost £130 million announced to ramp up zero-emission vehicle technologies.
- Funding will support over 1,800 high-value manufacturing jobs, with additional jobs in the supply chain.
- Almost £65 million of government funding is industry-matched to drive zero-emission projects.
- DRIVE35 delivers the funding and carries a £4 billion commitment to 2035.
- £17 million is being injected into nine CAM Pathfinder projects for R&D, testing and scaling.
Background information in the announcement stated that DRIVE35 is built to anchor future vehicle production, scale up battery manufacturing, grow the UK’s most innovative tech companies and onshore the supply chain capabilities. The announcement said DRIVE35 is designed to directly support over 50,000 direct jobs plus tens of thousands more in the supply chain, cut millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions and unlock billions in private investment by 2035.
