The UK Government has introduced a number of measures that it says will support UK carmakers.
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The 2030 phase out date of new petrol and diesel car sales is retained with hybrids to be sold until 2035 and small manufacturers exempt. However, firms are being given greater freedom on how to meet the target – easing pressure on industry.
The Government said the changes, which reflect ‘extensive consultation’, will help the car industry by:
- increasing flexibility of the mandate for manufacturers up to 2030, so that more cars can be sold in later years when demand is higher;
- allowing hybrid cars – like the Toyota Prius and Nissan e-Power – to be sold until 2035 to help ease the transition and give industry more time to prepare;
- pressing on with tax breaks worth hundreds of millions of pounds to help people switch to electric vehicles.
The updated ZEV Mandate will ensure flexibilities support UK manufacturers by:
- maintaining the existing phase-out dates and headline trajectories for cars and vans;
- extending the current ability to borrow in 2024-26, to enable repayment through to 2030;
- extending the current ability to transfer non-ZEVs to ZEVs from 2024-26, out to 2029, giving significant additional flexibility to reward CO2 savings from hybrids – caps will be included to ensure credibility;
- introducing a new flexibility by allowing for van to car transfer, i.e. 1 car credit will be exchanged for 0.4 van credits, and 1 van credit will be exchanged for 2.0 car credits.
The package of measures will also exempt small and micro-volume manufacturers – supercar brands including McLaren and Aston Martin – from the ZEV Mandate targets.
Vans with an internal combustion engine (ICE) will also be allowed to be sold until 2035, alongside full hybrids and plug-in hybrid vans.
Support for the car industry will be kept under review as the impact of new tariffs becomes clear.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Our ambitious package of strengthening reforms will protect and create jobs – making the UK a global automotive leader in the switch to EVs – all the while meeting our core manifesto commitment to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.”
