JLR parent company Tata is set to choose the UK as the location for its electric car battery plant in Europe, the BBC has reported.

JLR announced last month that it was accelerating its work to go all-electric with a new £15bn investment over the next five years

The deal is expected to be signed by Tata’s chairman and the Prime Minister next week, according to the BBC’s sources, following a bidding war with Spain.

The site would be located at Bridgwater, close to the M5 and creating up to 9,000 jobs.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hinted last week that a deal could be imminent, saying: “All I would say is watch this space because we are very focused on making sure the UK gets that EV manufacturing capacity.”

The deal would mark a major milestone for the UK auto sector, after suffering recent setbacks, including the collapse of Britishvolt in January 2022 and growing concerns that the UK is lagging far behind in the buildout of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and for energy, due to a lack of government support amid a ‘global battery arms race’.

JLR joined Stellantis last week in warning the Government of the Brexit threat to the UK’s electric car production future.

In its submission to a commons committee inquiry into supply of batteries for EV manufacture, Stellantis warned that parts sourcing rules agreed under Brexit were impacting carmakers’ plans and urged the UK to reopen negotiations to avoid impacting the sustainability of both its own plants and those of other carmakers.

JLR echoed the concerns, telling i newspaper that the Brexit deal was “unrealistic and counterproductive” for electric car manufacturing and needed to be changed.

Jaguar has previously announced plans to become pure electric luxury brand by 2025 and in April, JLR – rebranded from Jaguar Land Rover – announced that it was accelerating its work to go all-electric with a new £15bn investment over the next five years.

The company revealed that its Halewood plant in the UK will become an all-electric production facility while its Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton will become the group’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre

A fully electric Range Rover is due in 2025 while the Jaguar brand is due to launch an electric four-door GT car with a range of up to 430 miles and priced at £100,000, by 2025. This will be built at Solihull as the first of three “reimagined modern luxury” electric models.

Separate reports also indicate that Tesla could be eyeing up a gigafactory in the UK. Speaking at a Wall Street Journal CEO Council event in London this week, CEO Elon Musk told the audience: “I will strongly consider England for a future location of a gigafactory.” Musk added that Tesla is “not currently looking at new locations” for a new factory, but said the company “will probably towards the end of this year”.

Multinational law firm DLA Piper said any such move by Tesla would not only boost the UK economy and create jobs but would also provide the EV giant with “world-class talent and access to some of the world’s leading R&D and EV firms based in England.”

Tim Lake, partner, corporate & UK head of industrials, added: “Any EV investment in the UK will not only support the country’s move to adopting cleaner vehicles, but will help to position the country as a key leader and enabler for further growth, aiding the reduction of greenhouse gases and helping the country meet its emissions targets.”