Government consultation on potential changes to the ZEV Mandate is welcome and much needed, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said that a review had been factored into the regulation from its outset, but bringing it forward has become increasingly important given the challenges manufacturers face with every passing month. It matters, therefore, not just because the mandate influences the competitiveness of one of the country’s most important sectors, but because it will help determine the success of Britain’s EV transition. Getting both right is imperative.
“Policy must now respond to the evidence – and it shows overwhelmingly that the optimistic assumptions underpinning the mandate’s current trajectory have not materialised. Industrial energy costs remain uncompetitive, public charging is still too expensive and inconsistent, while raw material and battery costs remain too high.
“EV demand has accelerated, which is a cause for celebration, but only with billions of pounds of manufacturer and government discounts. This is unsustainable – causing significant harm to the sector and, perversely, actually threatens the success of the transition and overall global carbon reduction. This is why every manufacturer, locally manufacturing or importing, in credit or not, believes the UK will not meet its 2030 target.”
The UK Government mandate had proposed ending pure petrol or diesel vehicle registrations by 2030 and then hybrids of this type five years later but the take up of electric cars has been slower than anticipated after the motor industry spent millions on the technology and now wants to see returns on its investments. Added to their costs are penalties the Government wants to impose if they miss the targets as an increasing percentage of total vehicle sales in a year.
The consequences are severe: lost profitability, damaged competitiveness, undermined residual values, and, in the longer term, narrower model choice and reduced investment in domestic manufacturing. This is not the way to deliver a sustainable transition. The consultation, therefore, is the opportunity for government to take stock and optimise the transition to work for all.
He added, “We welcome government’s consultation on the ZEV Mandate and how it should change to better support the UK’s transition. Industry remains fully committed to a zero-emission future, investing billions in new technologies, products and, along with government, consumer incentives. The regulation was conceived, however, under very different conditions – cheaper energy, rapidly declining production costs, and more optimistic global demand expectations.
“Regulatory targets are now running ahead of current consumer demand, so this review is a timely opportunity to optimise the pace of change. This is a regulation that increasingly dictates consumer choice – and therefore automotive companies’ future strategies and viability – so it must work for all involved. That means a commercially sustainable transition that supports UK competitiveness, investment and jobs while delivering greater choice and affordability for motorists – with a rapid resolution needed to unlock those benefits for everyone.”
There were calls for the UK Government to go further and follow the open-ended decision of European Governments.
The original hard 2035 ban has been significantly softened in the EU Commission’s 2025 proposal, said Howard Cox of FairFuel UK.
“Under the current draft, there is no absolute end date for new diesel or petrol cars in the EU. The EU has moved from a hard 2035 zero-emission requirement to a more flexible 90% target, allowing some combustion-engined vehicles to continue indefinitely. Why hasn’t the UK followed suit?
“Keeping the 2030 ban will cripple the UK economy and will not accelerate the uptake of expensive EVs. The Government is forcing them onto us without consultation and is relying on subsidies and tax breaks to bribe us all into submission. And the national grid simply cannot cope with the extra load required to keep the nation fully charged.”
“The rest of Europe has sensibly put back its ban on new fossil-fuel car sales. Wanting to lead the way with an ill-informed, clueless approach that wrecks the UK economy for pure ideology makes no sense whatsoever.”
Ferrari’s controversial first electric car realised £29.5m in a charity sale, setting a record for a new vehicle sold at auction at the weekend.
It raised more than 35 times the usual price of the car at the event at RM Sotheby’s in California, where the money will go to the Ferrari Foundation’s educational programmes, after a backlash when the model was announced in May and criticised as not following the marque’s style or engineering.
