When it comes to revolutions, UK manufacturing has a pretty good track record of leading the charge. Depending on which historical source you take your steer from, the first industrial revolution took place in the mills of Manchester or in the Shropshire town of Ironbridge.
Fast-forward four centuries and companies find themselves in the midst of another era of change, with digital manufacturing making its way across the shopfloor and arguably an even bigger transformation in how we travel and transport goods.
‘Cleaner mobility’ is certainly a major political and societal challenge, so much so the UK is striving to lead the race when it comes to its ‘Net Zero in Transportation’ by 2035 ambition. This will see the internal combustion engine phased out and replaced with greener powertrains, most noticeably electric batteries and, the complementary, hydrogen fuel cell.
I’ve seen the start of this journey first-hand, initially in my role with the Advanced Propulsion Centre and now in my current position at Unipart Manufacturing, where we are taking established tier-one automotive manufacturing capabilities to provide solutions into multiple sectors such as rail, utilities and construction.
Pioneering new supply chains
Whilst the car manufacturers will ultimately drive the ‘clean’ transition, the various tiers of the supply chain must be an integral part of the ride. Strategies must be focused on solving the pain points of customers, who are all seeking potential solutions for de-risking new technology development, scaling up challenges, bringing supply chains closer to home and making British manufacturing competitive internationally.
Collaboration across the supply chain and harvesting the rich innovation from our world-class academic institutions is a key ingredient to the UK’s success.
The industry is looking for expertise in safety-critical processes, complex assemblies, welding and joining, and wider supply chain management and logistics to take new EV-related products from an idea into commercial production. Furthermore, there is also an overwhelming desire to close the sustainability gap by exploring how carbon emissions can be taken out of the production process.
Collaboration across the supply chain and harvesting the rich innovation from our world-class academic institutions is a key ingredient to the UK’s success.
There are five main principles at play as the UK drives to re-establish its leadership in the automotive sector:
- Building resilience and localised supply chains
- Leadership in sustainable manufacturing and circularity
- Digital innovation and agile transformation
- Developing a world-class competitive workforce
- Access to finance for modernisation
Transitioning a well-established industry from fossil fuel technology to full electrification is no easy task. A significant tear-up and rebirthing of key supply chains is already in progress. But, as with all revolutions, this runs a change cycle of forming, storming and norming. We are currently in the storming phase of this seismic change in global vehicle manufacturing.
A helping hand is needed to successfully make this transition.
Funding and collaboration for future growth
Bringing new technologies to market and, importantly, commercialising them in the UK is prone to risk and the much-publicised ‘valley of death’, which often sees domestic IP acquired by an international rival to the detriment of UK GDP.
In her Autumn Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced £2bn of funding for the automotive sector to move to clean energy. This is great news for the industry but whilst funding does help de-risk the process and accelerate decisions, it’s not the only important aspect. There is also a need to access expertise outside of your organisation and the ‘matchmaking’ service that introduces you to suppliers that can bring innovation and efficiency to the process.
At Unipart we have been fortunate to have the grant funding support from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to build low- and zero-carbon transport solutions for more than 10 years. Unipart was involved in the first ever competition launched by the APC, winning a grant to develop a low-carbon combustion engine technology. Subsequently a grant funding award led to the formation of the battery pack producer we now know as Hyperbat and a follow-on grant funding project.
Supported by a consortium of partners from manufacturing, small- and medium-sized enterprise, design engineering specialists and academia, this project has scaled up the UK’s battery pack manufacturing and supply chain capability through the development of an automated pilot line for module/pack assembly, cell joining and in-line testing – delivering a step-change in high-performance battery costs and scalability.
Building new electrified supply chains
Whilst the UK is forecast to produce one million electric vehicles by 2030, local supply chains are limited for assembling inverters and converters: the power electronics systems at the heart of every electric vehicle.
Inverters drive the electric motor with power from the battery, DCDC converters distribute power right across the electrified powertrain system and on-board chargers are essential for adding power to high-voltage batteries.
An £11m APC funding project is working to improve the UK supply chain by working with a manufacturer of in-wheel motors, which requires a state-of-the-art facility to support the development and production of high-power DCDC converters and inverters, using advanced vision systems, flow management, and end-of-line testing to enhance efficiency and quality.
This project is a collaboration between five industrial partners and two universities to create a first-of-its-kind pilot production line to drive innovation in our industry, and create or safeguard 159 jobs in the UK by 2030.
Only with funding and collaboration such as this can we ensure the latest research and development is seamlessly integrated into industrialisation to position the UK as a leader in power electronics manufacturing.
Investing in the workforce of the future
Alongside the issue of funding, our industry is also facing a talent shortage in key areas such as automation, digital technologies, and sustainable manufacturing, affected by a misalignment between education and real industry needs.
To tackle this, we must use academic-industry talent development models focused on future-proof skills, particularly in digital transformation, automation, and sustainability to create industry-ready engineers.
An example of this in action is Unipart’s unique collaboration with Coventry University - the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering.
The Institute is not only teaching the next generation of engineers the technology and processes of tomorrow, but supporting engineers with years of experience in internal combustion engines to transfer that knowledge and initiative to cleaner powertrains.
we must use academic-industry talent development models focused on future-proof skills, particularly in digital transformation, automation, and sustainability to create industry-ready engineers.
UK supply chains are reinventing themselves, supporting the development of new EV capabilities and delivering a proven capability to attract inward investment.
Our industry must work together to create a framework for developing new skills in electrification that will fuel the workforce of the future, whilst tapping into available funding streams to explore new technologies and processes at low cost and low risk.
The UK automotive sector is undergoing transformative shifts that call for decisive leadership to address global challenges in electrification, sustainability, and digital innovation. By prioritising resilience through localised supply chains and fostering industry collaboration, the sector can secure a competitive, sustainable future.
The role of a UK manufacturer
Rooted in decades of experience within automotive manufacturing, Unipart has leveraged its insights to address complex challenges across a variety of sectors, from electrification to sustainable production. The transfer of these lessons demonstrates how adaptable, collaborative approaches can drive meaningful progress beyond the boundaries of any single industry.
By building partnerships with industry, academia, and government, we aim to strengthen a resilient UK manufacturing ecosystem that capitalises on Britain’s distinctive strengths. This collaborative framework provides a roadmap for positioning the UK as a hub for advanced, sustainable manufacturing, resilient against global disruptions and prepared to meet future challenges.
This article was originally published in The Engineer's 2025 Tech Trends supplement in which key commercial partners offer their take on the technologies that will shape the year ahead.
For more information on Unipart visit: https://www.unipart.com/
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