Lister’s CEO, Lawrence Whittaker, warned in a statement released on social media this week that without a clear Government policy, investment in new models is impossible for low-volume manufacturers such as Lister.
The company’s project was to modernise the Knobbly, but this has sadly been suspended, even though Lister appears to be in a healthy financial position. While more prominent manufacturers such as JLR can direct resources into ‘re-imagine’ projects, small-scale manufacturing in the UK faces a challenging future if the current uncertainty continues.
Lister has maintained strong links with Jaguar products and currently produces what they call ‘Britain’s fastest SUV’. Based on the Jaguar F-Pace, the Lister Stealth has a top speed of 195mph and 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds. Other recent JLR products that have received the Lister treatment have included the F-TYPE and IPACE.
The full statement from The Lister Motor Company
As Britain’s oldest racing car manufacturer, the Lister Motor Company has been proudly producing race and road-going versions of our Knobbly and Costin continuation cars for the last 10 years. We pride ourselves on sourcing all our materials from Great Britain, not only to support British businesses, but because that’s how our cars have always been built.
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, released on 3rd January 2024, dictates that all new cars must produce zero emissions by 2035 – a date that our current Government has said they will bring forward to 2030. That means in just 5 short years all cars sold in the UK are likely to be electric.
In the past, small volume British Car Manufacturers, such as ourselves, Morgan, Caterham, Ginetta, etcetera, have been exempt from emission demands, because we produce less than 1000 cars per annum under the IVA or SVA Type Approval. However, so far, the UK Government has yet to state if this exemption will continue.
This year, our 71s year in business, we had plans to create a brand-new car for the road, our first new model in over 32 years. This multi-million-pound investment would not only secure Lister’s future, but would create many new jobs, not only at our head office and factory, but with many suppliers throughout the UK.
As it stands, with no clarity on the future rules for IVA or SVA Type Approval cars, we have taken the incredibly difficult and heart-breaking decision to put all future plans on hold. Financially, Lister is in a very strong position with zero borrowings outside our group of companies, but unlike larger manufacturers, we simply cannot afford to gamble on the future of our business.
As a profitable tax-paying UK car manufacturer, we request an urgent update to the legislation, so we know how to plan for the next 5 years. All manufacturing needs time to change, cars more than most, and at the moment we are sadly in stalemate.
Lawrence Whittaker, CEO Lister Motor
