The UK government has announced changes to the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate in an attempt to balance the needs of the environment and the automotive industry.
From 2030, as previously promised, new petrol and diesel cars will no longer be able to be sold in the UK. However, hybrid electric cars will be subject to a later phase-out date and will still be able to be sold in the UK until 2035. Small and micro-volume car manufacturers, including supercar brands McLaren and Aston Martin, will also be exempt from the ZEV mandate, a move which the government states will help to preserve the history of British car manufacturing.
Meanwhile, petrol and diesel vans, as well as full hybrid and plug-in hybrid vans, will be allowed to be sold until 2035. Additionally, £2.3 billion worth of funding has been committed to helping boost EV manufacturing and infrastructure and to help people make the switch from a petrol or diesel car to an EV. Furthermore, the government has stated that it will press ahead with tax breaks for British consumers seeking to switch to an EV, although details of this have not been fully revealed.
Prime minister Keir Starmer called this new version of the ZEV mandate a “bold change to the way we support our car industry”, adding that the rapidly changing nature of global trade means that the government “must go further and faster in reshaping our economy and our country through our Plan for Change”.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband praised the plans, stating that it “is very important that the government has strengthened our commitment to our world-leading EV transition plan”. He added that the plan will benefit UK consumers by expanding the EV market while also supporting domestic manufacturing to allow the UK to “seize this global opportunity”.
Demand for EVs has been steadily increasing. According to the government, stats show that EV sales in March rose by over 40% from last year, with the UK topping the charts as the largest EV market in Europe in 2024. EVs are also becoming far cheaper to purchase—recent data suggests that half of used electric cars are sold for under £20,000, and 29 electric car models are available to purchase new for under £30,000.
However, some in the EV industry have raised concerns about this latest update to the ZEV mandate and questioned if it is ambitious or supportive enough. While Warren Philips, chair of trade group EVA England, said the confirmation of the 2030 mandate deadline was “encouraging”, he expressed disappointment in some of the other aspects of the ZEV mandate. Philips noted: “It is disappointing no additional measures were included today for drivers who, similarly to car manufacturers, need some support to make the switch. We need Government input to tackle high EV upfront costs in the short term and to help more households access charging affordably, especially for those who can’t easily plug in at home.”
