RACE FOR MAYOR
the race to be at the centre of the transformation of the global car industry as it shifts from petrol to electric technology.
His apparent endorsement of Mr Street – and the decision to exclude Siôn Simon from the high-level discussions – will come as a blow to the Labour candidate just a week ahead of the mayoral election on May 4.
A recent poll by the Birmingham Post put the two candidates neck and neck. Asked whether he was supporting the drive to establish Coventry as the UK’s motor City, Mr Street said: “Categorically. That’s why I’m here.
“We want electric vehicles produced here in Coventry than in Stuttgart or Detroit.
“There are some practical things that regional government can do.
“It’s about the testing, the infrastructure to support that and making to be rather sure our innovation centres get the best possible support.”
Labour’s Mr Simon has previously talked up Coventry’s potential for driving the automotive revolution.
Speaking to the Post’s sister paper the Coventry Telegraph in January, he said: “There’s an extraordinary heritage of motoring and automotive in Coventry and in R&D, battery technology, electric and driverless cars.
“Coventry is at the cusp of a point at being at the very vanguard of the next wave of automotive revolution.”