Labour aims to have 1.3m vehicles rolling off production lines by 2035, a central ambition of its industrial strategy. UK vehicle production slumped 15.5% in 2025 compared with the previous year, hitting its lowest point since 1952 apart from during Covid-19 lockdowns. Chinese manufacturers are seen as the most likely to build new electric vehicle assembly plants in the UK. Hopes are growing that a Chinese company will build a factory in Britain after a surge in sales of the country’s cars to UK buyers last year. Chery said last summer that it was “actively considering” building a plant in the UK as part of a “localisation” strategy.