Battery failures like Johnson Matthey risk leaving British carmakers disconnected

The UK automotive industry will need a large local supply of battery capacity. If it does not get it, it could shrink quickly

The end of the internal combustion engine was one of the goals identified by Boris Johnson before Cop26.

The climate summit in Glasgow has delivered in part - some manufacturers and a few big countries said last week they would end sales of fossil fuel cars by 2040. Neither Volkswagen nor Toyota, the world's two biggest carmakers, signed up, because of concerns over electric charger availability in poorer countries, but nevertheless the path is clear. Petrol and diesel are on their way out. Battery electric cars are on the way in.