Is a UK-China EV deal about to happen?
As the UK government shows positive support for NIO and potential investment
Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top story today… Is China's luxury EV behemoth NIO about to make a fresh entrance into UK manufacturing?
Elsewhere… BYD prepares to launch its luxury ‘Denza’ brand in the UK, Tesla reveals its new Model Y, and the Treasury invests £65m in Connected Kerb.
Finally, if you ever have any comments or feedback, please do get in touch by replying to this email or using the links below.
UK-China EV Deal: Could the West (of England) Win Big?
Headline… I understand that a large automotive deal - so big it could affect the economy - is on the cards between the UK and China. I believe that the company involved is the Chinese EV giant NIO. While NIO backed away from starting UK car sales in 2023, I believe it may re-enter Britain with fresh investment into a ‘box ready’ manufacturer.
Big claims, Tom!? Yes, it’s probably the boldest claim I’ve made in this publication in its four-year history. However, based on the evidence I’ll outline below, I’m confident, to use a casino roulette metaphor, while I may not be on the right number, this story is certainly on the right colour.
I’ll break my case down into three parts…
Part 1: The FOI…
In Autumn… after Trump had taken The White House, and meanwhile Starmer was cosying up to China’s President, I thought it best to pop in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to see how many meetings their ministers or senior officials were having with Chinese carmakers (this included BYD, Geely, MG, NIO, and others). I also asked for the readouts of any meetings.
I had been given a tip-off during the Summer that several policymakers, and even some other nations, were getting a bit peeved that the UK wasn’t aligning with the EU or US position on Chinese tariffs for EVs. Through the FOI, I hoped to understand if China was in the other ear.
What did I learn? A big fat nothing. As the legal requirement of 20 working days came up in December, I got a response from DBT stating they need “need more time to consider”. This isn’t abnormal. Government will often need to undertake a ‘public interest test’ on information before making it public. In the case of my ask about meetings with Chinese carmakers, the government wrote: “We are considering section 36 (prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs). However, this is not yet finalised and will be subject to changes.”
Section 36? Oh, it all sounds very grand and parliamentary but it’s a reason the government may use to get away from sharing the information. In short, government needs to ensure there are sometimes safe spaces for people to tell them things without fear of people like me being on their back. Fair.
However… Here’s where the story gets tasty. As you’ll see in the above image, after that initial delay, DBT promised a further reply in January. I received that last week (image below). This time, they yet again asked for more time to consider. But, this time, they cited four new areas for a potential exemption to releasing the information… It included:
Section 27 (International Relations) - which protects information that could harm the UK’s relations with other countries or international bodies.
Section 29 (The Economy) - which safeguards information that could damage the UK’s economic interests or financial stability.
Section 35 (Formulation of Government Policy) - that keeps details about ongoing policy discussions confidential to protect decision-making; and
Section 43 (Commercial Interests) - which protects trade secrets or sensitive business information that could harm a company’s competitiveness.
And then our old friend section 36 was there again too.
Naturally… This sudden flurry of new exemption considerations, all arriving immediately after Chancellor Rachel Reeves just returned from a big trade tour to China, certainly raised my eyebrow at the possibility of a deal happening behind the scenes. But who on my carmaker list could it be?
Part 2: Whodunit?...
In my FOI… I asked about 9 carmakers. I researched each for their UK activity, checked in with various sources, and came to the quick conclusion that the most likely suspect for a deal would be NIO. Now, before we continue, again a health disclaimer that this is all based on my sleuthing.
So why NIO? To answer that question, we actually need to ask another one first… who are Forseven?
Forseven, who? They are the biggest car company you’ve never heard of. Forseven is a British based carmaker that was founded in 2023. In the two years since, they have quietly grown in the West Country to the point of employing some 600+ staff and operating across several sites.
Forseven has not made a car yet. They claim to be focused on being a leader in luxury automotive. Their website is minimalistic. They do not post much on social media (if only to hire people). But in the past year, the company has doubled in size. Many of those hired include heavy-hitting political, PR, and corporate affairs advisors. However, despite all that, bar some odd pieces of press in early 2024, they have remained almost completely silent to the public.
Why is that? Not to go all Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator, but… it might have something to do with the fact that every time we hear about the dream of a new big industrial saviour in this country (think Arrival, Britishvolt, Sizewell, HS2…), too many whispers have sunk them.
Another reason… I suspect is about who is backing Forseven. And that person is the Abu Dhabi Government, through its CYVN Holdings.
And here we get back to NIO. CYVN is a major shareholder in NIO (owning around 20%). They have backed the Chinese luxury carmaker with billions of US dollars. That is huge given NIO remains an absolute beast of a carmaker in its own right, having also developed a huge amount of battery tech and power-swapping capability.
CYVN is clearly a key bridge between China and the UK. Only in February 2024, Forseven and NIO signed a technology licence agreement together - and seemed to largely go unnoticed - and all underpinned by CYVN.
And CYVN’s interest in the UK is only growing. In October last year, they bought McLaren. For context, since 2023, CYVN has also owned a controlling stake in the Gordon Murray Group - which was where Forseven was initially spun out from.
The location of all these firms is also interesting. As someone recently pointed out to me, geographically, all of them - Forseven, Gordon Murray, McLaren, and NIO’s UK listed office - are in a similar part of the UK - the West of England.
They are also reasonably close to the vacant site near Coventry that has been endlessly crying out for a ‘gigafactory’. Known as the Greenpower Park, it was once rumoured that Chery Motors were interested in going there, though this seems to have fizzled away. I do find it interesting that if you go to the Greenpower website, there are two language options in the top corner: English or Chinese.
As a final tin hat observation… I did notice that NIO’s UK HR manager was recruiting for an assistant a couple of months ago to “Support with recruitment advertising and screening for new hires specific to the UK market.” Amongst other responsibilities, such as organising visas.
Part 3: Government praise…
When I approached the Department for Business and Trade this week with a comment request about this story - which, obviously is highly speculative - when I mentioned in my correspondence that I believed NIO was the Chinese carmaker involved in the discussions, I was fully expecting to get no response. Stonewalled. Or at the very least some spiel about how the government couldn’t comment - especially given what they’d detailed in those FOIs!
However… When asked about NIO and whether the government is working with a Chinese carmaker to organise investment in the UK, a spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade told The Fast Charge:
“The UK has a thriving automotive sector, employing over 150,000 people across the country. While we cannot speculate on commercial investment decisions, we are supportive of NIO’s existing UK operations and would positively view any new investment in the UK.”
So… not only do they not deny being involved in talks, they also happily namecheck and praise NIO, clearly showing an openness from the government to work with a Chinese carmaker to secure itself in the UK.
I asked NIO for a comment… and they did not respond to the request.
In conclusion… ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is my case for why, perhaps soon, we’ll see an economically significant announcement, maybe involving NIO and Forseven (aka. China and the UAE), that will provide a promising future for British manufacturing in the West of England. Time to wait and see (gulp).
Other news…
🛠️ In a similar vein to our main story today, VW has said lately it would be open to arrangements with Chinese carmakers to come and operate their factories. Read more (paywall).
🚘 And another China story, this time about BYD in the UK. The carmaker currently has several job openings related to the imminent launch of its ‘Denza’ brand. Open roles include a Sales Director, Product Manager, and Marketing Manager. The Denza brand will compete with BMW, Audi, and Mercedes and is aimed at the premium end of the market. Denza also makes large passenger cars. Presumably, a launch in the UK is coming soon.
👩💼 That’s not all btw. BYD is also hiring a legal counsel to help coordinate compliance, risk, and regulatory matters with their outside counsel. Interesting.
🎤 I missed this last week, but the EV Association for England currently has a survey open where drivers can share views that will shape their submission to the government. Given that many other organisations represent companies, not the ‘salt of the Earth’ EV driver, it’s worth filling out the survey. Learn more.
👍 If you need some inspiration or would like a visual understanding of how the EV transition is going, the Financial Times published a mammoth story last week that goes over every corner - and ultimately asks if we should be driving less. See it here (possible paywall).
And a little late to the party perhaps, The Times published something a little bit similar and text-based on Monday.
🚙 Last week Tesla launched its ‘same-same, but different’ new Model Y. Details here. The new version is very similar to the old one apart from the lights. But why change much on what has continued to be a hugely successful car? One thought I did have though… Like all Tesla cars, will this new model come with fresh ‘easter eggs’? If not, the ones I’ve thought of include… a saluting window wiper… and maybe a button that turns the cabin into an echo chamber?
🧑⚖️ Talking of Tesla, over in the EU they’ve brought a legal case against the EU over tariffs on Chinese imports. Read more (paywall).
👨🏫 Meanwhile, going a little bit different, Renault plans to kick-start its EV sales amongst consumers by sticking to its nostalgic vibe. Read more.
🔋 EVs being used on UK roads are lasting as long as petrol and diesel cars, according to a very large study. This is thanks to new improvements in battery tech. Read more.
🚗 The CEO of Peugeot, Linda Jackson, last week said the government should find ways to “stimulate” the market for new and used EVs. Peugeot is part of Stellantis and hit the ZEV mandate last year. Read more.
🏴 A resident of Barry, the town made famous by the BBC’s Gavin and Stacey, has requested permission to cut into their pavement to make an EV charging gulley. Tidy!
🔌 The West Midlands Combined Authority has secured three sites for ultra-fast EV charging stations along major roads in the North, East, and South of the region. Read more.
🌳 The Cotswolds District Council is installing 24 new EV chargers across four council-owned car parks in Stow-on-the-Wold, Tetbury, Moreton-in-Marsh, and Cirencester. Read more.
🅿️ Speaking of council car parks, self-proclaimed ‘green pioneers’ in a Kent authority are also installing new points. Read more.
💸 During a speech today about growth, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the UK government was investing £65 million into Connected Kerb. Read more.
⚡️ Finally, Polestar has officially gone live with its energy offer in the UK. Read more.
Superb journalism! Thank you.