3. What is the Welsh Government doing to promote the automotive sector? OAQ53630

Well, we take every opportunity to promote the Welsh automotive sector, both across the UK and abroad, particularly at this challenging time for the industry, as it is vital for the Welsh economy to see it sustained, and indeed in the future, to grow.

Okay. Diolch. Minister, I know you have been a strong advocate of the automotive industrial sector, underscored within the economic action plan, and it's an important industry in Wales that comprises around 150 companies, employing, critically, nearly 19,000 people—13 per cent of the Welsh manufacturing workforce—and generating over £3 billion-worth of revenue, and manufacturing 30 per cent of the 2.7 million engines that are produced in the UK as a whole. So, Minister, what actions are the Welsh Government taking to bolster the automotive industry in Wales as we navigate the uncertain and unprecedented challenges associated with the UK Tory Government Brexit chaos that is deeply harmful to Welsh manufacturing?

Can I thank Rhianon Passmore for her question and recognise her keen interest in the automotive sector as well? I issued a written statement to Members at the start of March that described the ongoing activity in support of the Welsh automotive sector. Together with the Welsh automotive forum, we are taking forward a number of actions to support car manufacturers across Wales, and, indeed, working very closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and other UK Government departments at Westminster to look at opportunities. I think it's worth recognising that whilst this is an incredibly challenging time for the automotive sector in Wales, in the last five years we've been able to help businesses in Wales invest more than £200 million in support of more than 12,000 jobs, as the sector has responded promptly to the renaissance of the UK car sector. However, of course, Brexit poses a major threat to the great strides that have been made in recent years, and that’s why we have called upon the UK Government to broker a deal that will ensure the continued full and unfettered access to the single market.

Minister, an inquiry conducted by the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee has shown that Wales could greatly benefit from the increased use of electric cars. However, the committee expressed concerns that the Welsh Government has been slow in showing leadership in this issue. They went on to say—or, the question, rather, is whether the £2 million recently announced to improve infrastructure for electric car charging points was a large enough funding boost. What is your response to these concerns, Minister, raised by the committee? And what assurances can you give that the Welsh Government’s support is adequate to promote this part of our automotive sectors?

Well, we’ve got a duty to ensure that the public purse only invests in areas where there is not market failure in this regard and that we invest in proper infrastructure. Now, it’s highly likely in the years to come that we will see the roll-out of induction charging, which would, of course, provide the solution for many streets where there are terraced houses. Therefore, it’s essential that we look at what the problem is today, in areas where the market won’t respond, and then we intervene, and that’s exactly what our deal with Plaid Cymru is striving to do.

But I would say that I believe that the Welsh Government and, indeed, the Welsh automotive sector are at the forefront of responding to the opportunities that the move to electric offers. Let’s take Aston Martin Lagonda, for example, who I’m very pleased to say are making Wales their home for the development of electric power driven vehicles. That is something that we should be championing and applauding, and it’s also something that has only come about as a consequence of working so very closely with Welsh Government.