Morning all,
Sorry for the delay since I last published. I told you I would be sleuthing away in the background, and I am doing so.
Today, I want to talk about one carmaker and shed some light on how it has cultivated a relationship at the heart of Whitehall for its lobbying efforts.
The carmaker in question is Toyota.
We all know that the Japanese carmaker, fabled for its early lead on hybrid technology, and more recently for its obsession with making fuel cell cars work, is no fan of the EV transition as it currently stands.
We know that despite its proclamations that ‘Carbon is the enemy’, behind-the-scenes they’d rather give the enemy a bit more of a runaround, so they can get up to speed.
In previous editions, I have published submissions to government from Toyota to Whitehall. For example, most recently, a joint letter alongside Ford, Bosch, and BMW asking for the 2035 petrol ban to be reversed.
However… you, like me, perhaps have sometimes wondered how government officials respond to a company which seems to be forever moaning?
Do these pleas land in their inbox and they go ‘Ohh FFS, not another one!’ Or is it more… ‘OMG. Stop, everyone, stop! Wake the minister! Call Thunderbirds! Toyota needs our help!’
Or is it in the middle?
🚨 NEW… The Fast Charge Newsletter has obtained correspondence between senior Toyota executives and the UK Government’s Chief Business Advisor, from 2023 to 2026, which suggests it’s closer to the latter.
The advisor is David Bickerton. A former senior lawyer, he joined the Department for Business and Trade in 2021 from Clifford Chance, where he worked for three decades. At the department, he was first Director General for Business Sectors before, in 2025, taking on the role of Chief Strategic Business Advisor. This means he has survived through both Conservative and Labour premierships and remains in post today.
The purpose of Bickerton’s role is to lead on significant business issues for the department, including commercial opportunities and threats. A sort of Whitehall consigliere.
Now… I appreciate it’s not groundbreaking news for me to reveal emails showing that a business advisor is talking to a business. In fact, when I asked the department why Bickerton appeared to have sustained contact with Toyota, a government spokesperson told me:
“It’s perfectly normal for senior officials at the business department to engage with major figures in the auto industry.”
True. But the question I put to everyone today is… which way round is that relationship meant to go? The correspondence I’ve copied below suggests that the relationship between Bickerton and Toyota is very warm, and perhaps a bit one-sided.
Across the emails I have obtained, they range from invites to a car unveiling and factory visits, exchanges of post-meeting love-ins, and in several, Bickerton offers direct help to the carmaker.
For example… in July 2023, Bickerton wrote to Tim Freeman, Deputy Managing Director of Toyota UK, thanking him for a meeting with him and the former Business Secretary (and now Tory leader) Kemi Badenoch. In the same email, he asks Tim:
“I would be grateful for your help on practicalities that can make it easier for you to do business in the UK? Things where it is the implementation of the policy rather than the policy itself that needs to change.”
Bickerton goes on to recap their discussion and makes a plea that Tim should not hesitate to reach out if he can help. In turn, Toyota responded with a full list of issues for the government to address.
In another example of the close relationship… in May 2024, Bickerton initiated contact with Richard Kenworthy at Toyota to congratulate him on a promotion to Vice President of Manufacturing at Toyota Manufacturing Europe. In the same note, Bickerton thanked Kenworthy, who had previously been Managing Director of Toyota in the UK, for his “constructive engagement on our work to decarbonise the sector.”
Bickerton added, “While we will miss you at TMUK, I look forward to engaging with you in your new role and how we can continue to work together on our excellent partnership with Toyota.” He then offered an invitation to meet with Kenworthy and his replacement.
How many companies do you know where the UK’s most senior official on business matters is sliding into your DMs about your promotion?
Perhaps most striking… in January this year, Kenworthy wrote to Bickerton saying he was meeting Ministers alongside other carmakers (BMW, Ford and Bosch) and asked for a face-to-face meeting. Based on Government transparency records, we know this was about the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate. In his response, Bickerton said he was keen to catch up but wrote, “it will make more sense after than before.” Why that way round?
When disclosing the correspondence, DBT kept several sections from Toyota to the department blacked out. In a letter to me, they explained, “It is in the interest of the public that DBT maintains strong working relationships with Toyota.”
For context… and so you don’t think this is a hit piece. Toyota is clearly an important business in the UK. It has two factories here, which are already in short supply in this country. They employ an estimated 3,000 people, and clearly many more in their supply chain. I can understand why they are important and why they need nurturing by a senior civil servant. Plus, as a communications professional, hats off to them for cultivating a strong relationship with Bickerton.
However… there are lots of other large businesses operating in the UK. In fact, according to the UK Government’s own statistics, there are 8,355 operating companies that employ more than 250 people. And millions more small and medium-sized businesses after that.
Is it right that one company, one that is not even headquartered in the UK, can have so much sway?
Toyota did not reply to a request for comment.
📮 Here are the emails:
February 2023: Richard Kenworthy to David Bickerton following a meeting in London.
July 2023: David Bickerton to Tim Freeman inviting input on making policies easier to deal with.
July 2023: Toyota invite to David Bickerton re: World Premier of the Toyota FCEV Hilux
July 2023: Personal follow-up by Richard Kenworthy re: Toyota FCEV Hilux launch
August 2023: Bickerton office decline attendance at Hilux launch due to availability.
May 2024: David Bickerton congratulates Richard Kenworthy on promotion.
January 2026: Richard Kenworthy asks David Bickerton for a face-to-face meeting.