Electric vehicle sales targets could be cut after pressure from car makers
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- UK government launched a review of the ZEV mandate, considering cutting the EV sales target from 80% to as low as 50% by 2030, with consultation running until late October.
- ZEV mandate currently requires EV sales percentages rising from 22% in 2024 and 33% in 2026 to reach 80% by 2030, while the outright ban on selling new pure petrol or diesel cars past 2030 remains in place.
- Ford of Britain MD Lisa Brankin and SMMT chief Mike Hawes welcomed the review, with Hawes calling the ZEV mandate "conceived under vastly different conditions" and a "timely opportunity."
- Climate groups criticized the move — the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit calculated that a 50% target would mean 2.6 million fewer electric cars on UK roads by 2035.
- Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the end goal "hasn't changed" but ministers must "take business with us on the journey," as Labour accused prior Conservative governments of "moving goalposts on phase out dates."
- Electric vehicles already made up a quarter of UK total car sales over the first seven months of the year (per SMMT), while petrol price spikes linked to the Iran war have boosted global EV interest.
Why it matters: The Climate Change Committee says EV adoption is the most effective transport emissions lever over the next decade — yet ministers are entertaining industry demands that, per the ECIU, would mean 2.6 million fewer EVs on UK roads by 2035. Car makers gain relief; the 2030 zero-emission deadline holds, but the glide path loosens.
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