A Tata Motors concept EV on show at the India Auto Expo 2023 on Jan. 12, 2023.
Anindito Mukherjee | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Tata Group will develop a major facility for the production of electric car batteries in the U.K., with the Indian conglomerate set to invest more than £4 billion (around $5.17 billion) in the project.
The news represents a significant boost for the U.K.’s plans to secure its own supply of EV batteries as it looks to move away from vehicles that use gasoline and diesel.
In a statement Wednesday, the U.K. government said the site would create as many as 4,000 direct jobs and provide Jaguar Land Rover — a subsidiary of Tata Motors — with batteries. Other customers in the U.K. and Europe are also being eyed.
The government said the factory would generate thousands of extra jobs further down the supply chain, in sectors connected to critical raw minerals and battery materials.
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“This investment will be crucial to boosting the UK’s battery manufacturing capacity needed to support the electric vehicle industry in the long term,” the government said.
“With an initial output of 40GWh it will also provide almost half of the battery production that the Faraday Institution estimates the UK will need by 2030,” it added.
The gigafactory will be one of Europe’s largest. The aim is for production to start in 2026. So-called gigafactories are facilities that produce batteries for electric vehicles on a large scale. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been widely credited as coining the term.
It’s been widely reported that the U.K. will provide Tata with significant subsidies for the project. The government said details of its support to Tata Sons would be “published in due course as part of our regular transparency data.”
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Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday morning, Grant Shapps, the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, said the news represented “certainly the biggest U.K. car investment for 40 years” and “a big vote of confidence in the British economy.”
Pushed on the value of the incentive given to Tata, Shapps acknowledged it was “large and … I make no bones about that,” but would not give an exact figure. The numbers, he added, “will come out in the usual way, because of the commercial sensitivity.”
The U.K. wants to stop the sale of new diesel and gasoline cars and vans by 2030 and will require, from 2035, all new cars and vans to have zero-tailpipe emissions.
News about the gigafactory plans was welcomed by those within the industry.
“This is a shot in the arm for the UK automotive industry, our economy and British manufacturing jobs, demonstrating the country is open for business and electric vehicle production,” Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said.
“It comes at a critical moment, with the global industry transitioning at pace to electrification,” he added.
Production of batteries within the U.K. was, Hawes said, “essential if we are to anchor wider vehicle production here for the long term.”
Ford is testing a new electrified Mustang that may not be as electric as it seems. The next-gen Mustang is apparently already in development. Here’s what we know about it so far.
Is Ford launching an electrified Mustang Hybrid?
After postponing around $12 billion in planned spending on electric vehicles in 2023, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley said the company would lean more into hybrids.
Farley told investors and analysts on the company’s Q3 2023 earnings call that he’s “so thankful we have kept our foot on the gas to freshen our ICE and HEV products as we enter a changing market.”
Ford’s CFO, John Lawler, reaffirmed the company’s plans later that year, saying the company would use hybrids as a bridge to fully electric vehicles.
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“With EV adoption slower, hybrids are going to be a bigger part,” Lawler said, adding that Ford “became a little bit complacent” on hybrid tech. Last year, Ford said it would introduce a hybrid version for every gas-powered vehicle in its lineup by 2030.
2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)
Ford is apparently making good on its promise with a new Mustang hybrid in development. According to a new report from Ford Authority, the Mustang hybrid, internally code-named S650E, is in development, and prototypes are already being tested.
The report claims the new Mustang has entered the Technology Prove-Out stage, suggesting it will be electrified to some degree.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally (Source: Ford)
Whether it will be a traditional hybrid or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) remains unclear. Although the company has yet to confirm it, Farley said that a “partially electrified Mustang coupe” was a strong possibility, and Ford’s Performance unit is already testing hybrid powertrains.
Electrek’s Take
Will the new Mustang hybrid sit alongside the Mach-E in Ford’s lineup? Ford’s electric crossover SUV remains one of the top-selling EVs in the US, so it’s unlikely to go anywhere, but it is due for a refresh with so many new rivals entering the market.
Through August, Ford sold 34,319 Mustang Mach-Es (+6.7% YOY) in the US. The gas-powered Mustang continues to fall out of favor, with 31,015 units sold in the first eight months of 2025, 8.3% fewer than during the same period in 2024.
With Hyundai, Stellantis, Honda, and several other global OEMs planning to launch new hybrid models in the US, the Ford Mustang hybrid doesn’t come as a total surprise. We will still have to wait for the official word from Ford, but a new electrified Stang seems more than likely.
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Transocean Barents, an oil platform passes through Canakkale Strait as vessel traffic suspended in both directions in Canakkale, Turkiye on November 12, 2024.
Enishan Keskin | Anadolu | Getty Images
Shares of Transocean plunged Thursday after the offshore driller announced the sale of a large number of shares at a discount.
Transocean is planning to sell 125 million shares at a price of $3.05, significantly lower than Wednesday’s close of $3.64. It is offering 25 million shares more than it originally planned.
The Swiss company’s stock was last down 14.8% premarket. The offering is expected to close on Friday.
Transocean expects to book about $381 million from the sale. It will use the proceeds to pay off debt.
(Correction: Updates with correct share offering price.)
New York City’s new 15 mph speed limit for electric bikes is officially set to take effect next month, in what city officials claim is a move to improve street safety. But not everyone is convinced the crackdown is targeting the real threat on the roads.
The new limit, approved earlier this year, applies to e-bikes, mopeds, and other micromobility vehicles operating in city bike lanes. Riders caught exceeding 15 mph could face warnings or citations, though the exact enforcement strategy remains murky. The NYPD says it will focus on “education first,” but given the city’s track record, that could just be the calm before the ticket storm.
The rule comes amid growing concerns from some residents and officials about rising speeds among e-bike riders, especially delivery workers who often rely on throttle-equipped bikes to meet tight deadlines. But while the new speed cap is aimed at micromobility vehicles, there’s a noticeable omission: cars, trucks, and SUVs, which continue to be allowed to travel at 25 mph – and in practice, often much faster – even though they pose exponentially more risk to vulnerable road users and are responsible for orders of magnitude more deaths each year.
It’s a move that raises eyebrows and has resulted in thousands of publicly-submitted comments that the New York Department of Transportation has seemingly ignored.
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After all, the majority of traffic fatalities in New York City don’t involve e-bikes. They involve cars. And while some e-bike riders certainly ride irresponsibly, the blanket limit nearly cuts in half the more widely accepted e-bike speed limits used around the US, and doesn’t even apply to pedal bikes, which can easily exceed such speeds despite nearly identical average weights when factoring in the vehicle and rider. Not to mention, it ignores the critical role that e-bikes play in reducing traffic congestion and emissions, especially in the delivery and commuting sectors.
So while New York is slowing down its most efficient and sustainable form of urban transport, it’s letting the real heavyweights keep their speed. If the goal is safety, then it’s fair to ask: why aren’t cars being asked to go 15 mph too?
Because once again, it seems the rules are written for the powerful – not the vulnerable.
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