UK car industry issues warning over electric vehicle targets

Electric vehicle (EV) sales targets in the UK are jeopardising investment and require urgent reform, the automotive industry has warned.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is calling for an “immediate review” of the Government’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate to “align regulation with market reality”.

The ZEV mandate dictates the minimum proportion of new cars sold by each manufacturer that must be zero emission, primarily meaning fully electric.

This figure is set at 33 per cent for 2026, escalating annually to 80 per cent by 2030.

However, pure battery electric vehicles currently account for only 23.9 per cent of the new car market during the first five months of this year.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes stated that “no-one in the industry” believes the UK can realistically meet the 2030 target.

He acknowledged that Government advisers to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) “thinks we can be there”, but its remit “does not extend to industrial consequences”, even if the domestic car industry becomes “collateral damage”.

He went on: “The Government has to consider such consequences and the mandate is already costing jobs and profitability, and UK investment is at risk.

“It does need urgent review, not abandoned but amended to reflect reality.”

Mr Hawes insisted the automotive industry is “totally committed to decarbonisation” but “the issue is how we get there and how quickly we can get there”.

Tanya Sinclair, chief executive of lobby group Electric Vehicles UK, accepted that the car industry faces “real challenges, particularly on trade, tariffs and competitiveness”, but stated that “weakening the Zev mandate won’t solve them”.

She went on: “Manufacturers are complying with the mandate and those that need flexibility already have it through the concessions Government has introduced.

“If Government wants to strengthen UK automotive, it should stop creating policy uncertainty and start backing the businesses investing in the transition.

“Certainty drives investment. Constant change holds it back.”