LONDON—Britain is to lend India's Tata Motors 10 million pounds to develop and make electric vehicles in the UK, the government said on Friday.
The loan towards Tata's 25-million-pound plan to build an electric car in England is the first under the government's Automotive Assistance Programme (AAP) to encourage low-carbon vehicle production.
"The government is determined to help the car industry to exploit fully the opportunities offered by green manufacturing," Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said in a statement.
"This loan will strengthen our electric vehicle manufacturing expertise, securing and creating high value engineering jobs in the West Midlands."
Tata has developed an electric vehicle based on its Indica Vista passenger car and plans to begin production within months.
"The Tata Indica Vista EV will be the first four-seater electric car with a range of up to 200 km (124 miles) to become available this year in Europe," the company said in a statement.
The Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) opened in Warwick in 2005.
