Tony Vitty has not worked at the Vauxhall van factory in Luton, north London, for years. But the 74-year-old retiree talks about parent company Stellantis NV’s plans to close the site as if he were losing his own business.

“It’s devastating,” the former quality control manager said of the 1,100 workers now at risk. “At least half of them have mortgages and these types of jobs are not around. “It will probably turn into a ghost town.”

Vauxhall has been inextricably linked to Luton for 120 years, creating jobs and strengthening the local economy; At its peak the town employed approximately 37,000 people. It’s not just locals feeling the pain as the UK automotive industry sinks further into crisis, with demand for petrol-powered vehicles falling and manufacturers struggling to meet the government’s ambitious targets for electric vehicle adoption. Car production in the UK fell 15% in October, its eighth consecutive month of decline.

Ford Motor Co. last week it announced plans to eliminate around 800 positions in the UK by the end of 2027. Nissan, along with Ford and Stellantis, have warned of the impact of zero-emission vehicle sales mandates, pointing to possible layoffs. And Jaguar announced the rebranding in anticipation of an all-EV future, which has drawn widespread backlash.

The UK car industry, once known globally for producing brands such as Mini and Jaguar, has been in decline for years as Brexit and high energy costs add to the challenges. The country wants to be a leader in electric vehicles but has fallen behind other countries in building the necessary facilities and battery factories.

Andy Palmer, former chief executive of Aston Martin Global Lagonda Holdings Plc, said government intervention was needed to prevent a complete end to car production in the UK.

“There are a lot of reasons why you’re not making cars in the UK at the moment, chief among them expensive energy and perhaps a lack of incentives,” said Palmer, who chairs electric vehicle charging company Pod Point Group Holdings Plc.

Focused on plugging the £22 billion black hole in the UK finances, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves made little offer to carmakers in last month’s budget. Executives were hoping for a cut in value added tax to boost sales of electric vehicles, which are more expensive than internal combustion engine alternatives.

This leaves manufacturers with a responsibility to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles so they can comply with the UK’s mandate. On a sliding scale of targets, zero-emission cars are expected to make up 22% of new cars sold this year, with the figure expected to reach 80% by 2030.

Electric vehicle sales have risen in recent months as manufacturers cut prices to reach those levels, with the UK ahead of many European markets but this year’s 18% share is still below target. And many of these cars are from Chinese brands racing to sell their more affordable EVs in the UK as they face additional tariffs in the US and EU.

Following the latest bad news from the industry, automobile manufacturers have accelerated their lobbying activities to ease the authorization system. Stellantis has already warned that it could otherwise stop producing vehicles in the UK. Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds’ announcement of a review sparked protests from those who said the system was working.

“If you change the ZEV mandate, the investment from the charging companies is undermined; people have made commitments based on that,” said Fiona Howarth, chief executive of electric vehicle rental company Octopus Electric Vehicles.

The recent surge in demand suggests consumers will buy affordable electric vehicles, according to Erin Baker, editor-in-chief of online auto marketplace Auto Trader Group Plc. “The discount proves that people are willing to switch if the price is right,” he said.

Stellantis’ effort to pin blame for Luton’s planned closure on the authority has also raised skepticism from EV supporters, given that the plant does not yet produce EVs and exports most of the vehicles it produces. The company plans to shift production to its Ellesmere Port facility near Liverpool, which produces small electric vans across the Vauxhall, Citroën, Peugeot, Opel and Fiat brands, following a £100 million investment to transform it into an electric vehicles-only facility.

“I don’t think it’s fair to attribute the potential job losses of a transitioning industry to electric vehicles,” said Delvin Lane, CEO of fast-charging company InstaVolt Ltd, which owns EQT.

Stellantis declined to comment.

It’s not just the UK where car manufacturers are in trouble. As well as making 800 job cuts in the UK, Ford also wants to eliminate around 2,900 positions in Germany and 300 elsewhere in Europe. Stellantis has been grappling with delays in launching new models, product recalls and shrinking market share in the US and Europe. Volkswagen AG is considering its first factory closure in Germany, with suppliers there eliminating thousands of positions.

Other factories in the UK have already closed. Honda Motor Co. will close its Swindon plant in 2021, ending decades of production in Europe.

The UK’s largest factory is Nissan Motor Co., in Sunderland in north-east England, which can produce up to 600,000 vehicles a year but only 325,000 by 2023. It is operated by. The Japanese carmaker pledged to invest £2bn in Sunderland last year. Increase EV production, including another battery factory. It follows Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors Ltd’s announcement that it would build a £4bn battery factory in Somerset and BMW AG’s decision to produce electric Mini models at its Oxford plant.

On Monday, Ford will start producing electric drive units at its Halewood factory near Liverpool.

Industry executives are now speculating about what changes to ZEV’s mandate might take. Rather than the percentages changing, it may be what types of vehicles are included in the percentages (e.g. certain hybrids).

Stellantis is calling on the government to combine targets for passenger cars with targets for commercial vans, which currently allow for slower EV adoption. It also wants exported battery electric vehicles to be included within the scope of authority, claiming that it will encourage production in the UK.

Car manufacturers face fines of up to £15,000 per vehicle if they fail to comply with the rules. By using a credit trading program, producers can avoid penalties and catch up in later years. This escape clause applies to Tesla Inc. and China’s BYD Co. It has allowed EV players such as to collect large sums of money from rivals that must meet emissions standards.

In Luton, workers are still hoping Stellantis managers will change their minds. At the town hall on Thursday, local Member of Parliament Rachel Hopkins joined workers to plan their fight in what she described as an emotional meeting.

“This is a heartbreaking situation for the town, which is why we must fight to maintain good skilled jobs,” Hopkins said. “We have a long history of manufacturing and automobile production in our town; the fact that that history could potentially come to an end is truly devastating.”

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.