ZEV Mandate reforms welcomed by industry
The industry has largely responded positively to the government’s announcement that ZEV Mandate rules would be relaxed.
It has announced greater flexibility around EV sales targets, while stating that hybrids and ICE vans can be sold until 2035.
Meanwhile, manufacturers who produce less than 2,500 vehicles a year are exempt.
Edmund King, AA president, said: “These announcements are a pragmatic step forward which we hope will help manufacturers and give confidence to drivers. The inclusion of hybrids can act as a stepping stone to help those not yet ready to make the full switch to electric.
“Our consistent message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone. Generally, drivers are hesitant, but most are not hostile to the change.
“Help is needed to stimulate demand for EVs including broader fiscal incentives. Drivers still raise concerns about cost of purchase, cost of charging and availability of chargers. Range anxiety itself is a thing of the past as AA breakdown figures show only 1.85% of all EV breakdowns are due to running out of charge compared to approximately 1% of ICE vehicles running out of fuel.”
Meanwhile, Sue Robinson, CEO of NFDA, said: “NFDA has been lobbying, on behalf of its members, to have amendments made to the ZEV mandate for several years. The previous iteration of the ZEV mandate was causing significant harm to the UK automotive sector, which as the government rightly points out, employs 152,000 people and adding £19bn to the UK economy.
“We therefore welcome the changes made as a step in the right direction for the UK automotive sector however it is vital that more incentives are available to encourage the consumer to move to EVs. The electric vehicle targets remain in place and the fines still remain too high for manufacturers.
“The UK remains the most aggressive regime for the EV transition and we would want the UK government to align with the rest of Europe, in order to make our market as competitive as possible in a rapidly changing global marketplace.
“NFDA will continue to work with its members and the UK government to ensure that the transition is a fair transition where consumers can afford new electric vehicles and manufacturers globally are confident in the UK automotive sector.”
However, not everyone has supported the announcement.
Dominic Phinn, head of transport at Climate Group, said: “Introducing flexibilities to legislation that is clearly doing its job confuses the market and hampers the roll-out of infrastructure. The UK’s ZEV mandate is a global success story which turned the UK into a leader in the transition of road transport.
“If we want to keep it that way, the government should bring together the energy, charging, and public sector, together with the car industry, to speed up, not slow down, the UK’s charging and grid infrastructure.
“A competitive car industry will inevitably be driven by confident EV leaders, not by those asking for ever more flexibilities to a framework that’s designed to help them along.”
