Promoting the Automotive Sector

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 20 March 2019.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 2:01, 20 March 2019

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.