Agratas, the battery division of Tata Group, is investing £4 billion into a gigafactory on the former Royal Ordnance Factory site in Somerset, with an additional £380 million in government backing.
When it's fully operational in 2027, the site will produce 40GWh of battery cells every year; enough to power around 500,000 electric vehicles annually. Early output will supply Tata's luxury brands: Range Rover, Land Rover Defender, and Jaguar.
It's a significant moment for British manufacturing. But for businesses and fleet operators, the more pressing question isn't what's being built in Somerset. It's what you need to be building right now.
The vehicles rolling out of this facility will end up on UK roads, in company car parks, and in fleet depots. Range Rovers and Defenders aren't consumer impulse buys, they're fleet staples, executive vehicles, and business assets.
That means the businesses operating them will need reliable, scalable fleet EV charging infrastructure. Not eventually. Soon.
The businesses that plan now will have systems in place, teams that know how to use them, and costs already offset by available funding. The businesses that wait will be scrambling, and paying more to catch up.
Fleet EV charging isn't simply a matter of bolting charge points to a wall. The decisions you make now affect your energy costs, your operational capacity, and your ability to scale. Here are the questions worth asking today:
Can your site handle the load? The number of vehicles you can charge simultaneously depends on your available power supply, not just the number of charge points installed. Without proper load management, adding more charge points can create serious problems.
Can you start small and grow? Yes, but only if the foundation is built for it. A well-planned system from day one means expansion is straightforward and affordable. A poorly planned one means expensive upgrades later.
Is there funding available? Yes. The OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme can significantly offset installation costs for eligible businesses. But grant schemes don't last indefinitely, and the application process takes time.
Who supports you when something goes wrong? Fleet charging infrastructure is operational infrastructure. You need a provider who stays with you after installation, not one who hands you a manual and disappears.
The Agratas gigafactory is expected to be operational in 2027. That's less than two years away. The procurement cycles, planning permissions, and infrastructure projects that support it are already moving.
Fleet electrification doesn't happen overnight either. Assessing your site, planning your infrastructure, securing funding, and installing a system that actually works takes time. Businesses that begin that process now will be ready. Those that treat 2027 as a distant deadline won't be.
At EVC Solutions, we don't start with hardware. We start with your site, your fleet, and your plans for the next three to five years. That means looking at load management, power capacity, expansion potential, and the funding available to you before a single charge point is specified.
We've helped businesses across the UK install fleet EV charging infrastructure that works on day one and scales as their needs grow. Our job isn't to sell you the most charge points. It's to make sure the right solution is in place, and that you're never left on your own if something needs attention.
No one should regret the decision to electrify their fleet. That's what we're here to make sure of.
If the news from Somerset has prompted you to think seriously about your fleet EV charging plans, we're ready to help. We offer a no-obligation site assessment that gives you a clear picture of what your business actually needs, and what's available to fund it.
