Speaking at a meeting of political and automotive leaders from the Midlands towards the end of last month, the chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover challenged the Government to invest £450 million in local infrastructure, saying his company could create 10,000 jobs and build electric cars in the region in return.

Ralf Speth said that JLR is hoping to take advantage of a Government pledge to put battery development and electric vehicles at the heart of its industrial strategy.

Mr Speth said: “The UK faces strong competition from other countries in its drive to become a world leader in electric cars. The German government wants to be ahead in this electric technology. We are in a race. Either we win or we lose.”

Martin Yardley, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said the first stage of the expansion plan could potentially create as many as 100,000 more jobs in the supply chain.

Mr Speth went on to say that JLR will need big improvements in local infrastructure, including an extra 12-15GW of electricity per year if it is to go ahead with the planned Midlands expansion. The company will also need extra land for development and “the right legislative framework”, he added.

According to a ‘private document’ seen by the Financial Times, JLR would also require a further £600 million of private investment. Mr Speth said that JLR, which will manufacture its first electric car — the Jaguar I-Pace — in Austria using third-party group Magna, wants to make other electric models in Britain.

“We want to build our electric vehicles in the West Midlands, in the home of our design and engineering,” he said. “This is why we must bring battery R&D and production to the UK.”

JLR, which will begin selling the I-Pace in 2018, expects 40% of its car range to have an electric option by 2020.