The government has invited vehicle manufacturers and EV charging companies to give their views on how to successfully phase out pure-combustion cars by 2030.
New transport secretary Heidi Alexander has launched a consultation on the UK’s transition to electric cars, in a bid to “restore clarity for vehicle manufacturers and the charging industry so that they have the confidence to invest in the UK in the long-term and drive growth in the UK automotive industry”.
It comes after business secretary Jonathan Reynolds acknowledged recently that the level of organic demand for electric cars is falling short of the targets imposed by the previous Conservative government’s Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, and pledged to work with the automotive industry to find “options for a better way forward”.
Speaking to the automotive industry in November, Reynolds said: “We get the seriousness of the situation and we get the urgency,” he said, adding that a decision would be made by January.
“We know that you need certainty and that’s why we will fast-track that consultation, giving you clarity on the direction of travel, and assuring you have the answers you need in the coming weeks before you make decisions in January.”
Now, with January just a week away, the government is seeking feedback on how to update the framework of the ZEV mandate, which currently states that car makers must achieve an EV sales mix of 22% in 2024 – rising incrementally each year to 80% by 2030 – or face heavy fines for every non-electric car sold over the threshold.
EV sales are forecast to achieve only an 18.5% market share this year, and many manufactures are selling a far smaller proportion of electric cars, raising doubts about the attainability of higher targets in the years to come. Already, some car firms are throttling back sales of ICE cars and selling their EVs at profit-busting discounts to get over the threhold.
The government says there are already “a range of flexibilities” built into the ZEV mandate, referring to the ability for manufacturers to trade EV sales ‘credits’, and the Vehicle Emissions Trading (VETS) scheme which essentially imposes less stringent EV sales targets on car makers with lower overall fleet emissions.
The consultation, though, will “explore the design of the flexibilities to ensure they continue to support manufacturers”.
It is not clear what modifications to this scheme could look like, but possibilities include allowing hybrid vehicles to partly count towards EV sales targets, factoring in light commercial vehicle sales as well as cars, and counting UK-built electric vehicles towards their respective manufacturer’s goal.
Importantly, the consultation will also seek to determine exactly what sort of hybrid cars can be sold after 2030, by which point pure-electric cars are currently scheduled to make up 80% of the market and pure-petrol and -diesel models are to be taken off sale.