The government is being warned not to “stumble at the finish line” by weakening its Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, with business leaders arguing that changing course now risks damaging investment, slowing the rollout of charging infrastructure and confusing drivers just as electric car sales are gathering pace.
Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles, has led the calls for ministers to hold their nerve as the government considers changes to the rules that set rising targets for the proportion of zero-emission cars manufacturers must sell.
“When a policy is working, you stick to it. You don’t pull over to tinker with the car when it's running smoothly, or you risk taking it off the road,” said Grewal.
The government launched a fresh consultation on the ZEV mandate last month, with options including cutting the current 2030 target for new zero-emission car sales from 80 per cent to 70, 60 or even 50 per cent. Another possibility is keeping the 80 per cent figure but allowing manufacturers more flexibility in how they meet it. The final 2035 deadline, when all new cars and vans must be zero emission, is unchanged.
Car makers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders have pushed for more flexibility, arguing that the market has changed significantly since the rules were drawn up and warning about the pressure being put on manufacturers, jobs and investment.
Grewal takes the opposite view. “The ZEV mandate is working. It gives manufacturers confidence to invest and drivers confidence to switch to electric. Weakening it now would send exactly the wrong signal, just as EVs are becoming some of the best-value cars on the road,” he said.
He points to more than £41 billion of private-sector investment in the UK since 2020, along with more than £6 billion committed to charging infrastructure. He also says the public charging network has doubled to more than 120,000 chargers, while electric cars now account for more than a quarter of new-car sales.
He also argues that the benefits are increasingly being felt by buyers, claiming that lower purchase prices and running costs can save a typical family around £900 a year. On top of that, he warns that Carbon Brief estimates weaker ZEV targets could cost consumers £3 billion a year in additional petrol costs by 2030.
Charging businesses are making a similar case. Delvin Lane, CEO of InstaVolt, said: “Ultra-rapid charging investment doesn’t happen on the back of uncertainty. We’ve invested hundreds of millions of pounds into the UK’s charging network because government policy gave us a clear runway to plan against. Softening the mandate at this stage risks spooking exactly the private capital that’s been building the infrastructure this transition depends on.”
There is a more measured response from Toby Poston, chief executive of the BVRLA, whose members have invested more than £36 billion in 750,000 electric vehicles. He said the consultation was “a vital opportunity to take stock” and said the organisation would make clear to government “where policy is working, where greater support is needed, and how we can keep the transition moving with confidence.”
Tanya Sinclair, CEO of Electric Vehicles UK, is more forthright, questioning why ministers are considering extending the availability of more polluting vehicles. “Electric vehicles are the most powerful public health and climate change intervention we have to mitigate these changes, as much as we’re able,” she said.
For Grewal, the bigger danger is another spell of uncertainty. He argues that the mandate already contains enough flexibility for car makers and that the government should concentrate on maintaining confidence rather than rewriting the rules. “We don't need to rewrite the rulebook - the mandate already contains sensible flexibilities to help industry adapt,” he said. “What business, investors, and motorists need right now isn’t more uncertainty - it’s clear, consistent, determination.”
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