Government prepares to relax ZEV mandate
18 November 2024
Transport secretary Louise Haigh and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet with the auto industry on Wednesday amid reports the government is preparing to relax rules around the ZEV mandate. It comes amid claims the sales quotas “have pushed car makers to crisis point”.
Haigh will also attend a bilateral meeting with Nissan today (Monday 18 November), where the OEM is expected to warn ministers the UK car industry has reached a “crisis point” with jobs and competitiveness at risk unless the government relaxes EV rules.
A report in the Sunday Times said that “all options” are on the table to help OEMs meet the targets and that ministers were “obviously live to” the situation. “Manufacturers have been quite frank how worried they are.”
One government source said that “the UK has become a hard place for manufacturers to do business… this is the beginning of a consultation to explore what we can do”.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said momentum was building in Whitehall to reform the ZEV mandate, making it more appealing for OEMs such as Stellantis to build vehicles in the UK.
Options include allowing OEMs to put British-made cars sold abroad towards their EV sales targets, and receiving credits for demonstrating carbon reduction in their factories. There was speculation over the weekend that EV purchase subsidies for private owners could return, while the SMMT has suggested halving the VAT on new EVs.
However, speaking to LBC on Sunday, Haigh insisted the government will not relax the targets – but could create new “flexibilities” to help manufacturers meet the targets.
“There are flexibilities in the current mandate, but we want to work with the manufacturing sector about whether these are working and whether we can address them… but the level of our ambition and the mandate will not be weakened.”
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