UK Electric Vehicles Target Expected to Be Cut This Week
The UK government is expected to water down its rule that 80% of new cars sold by 2030 must be electric vehicles. Carmakers want relief, while green groups warn of damage to climate goals. Downing Street says no decision has been made.
The UK government is expected to reduce its electric vehicles (EV) sales targets this week, a move likely to please carmakers and anger environmental groups. Under current rules, 80% of new cars sold in the UK must be electric by 2030.
Downing Street has insisted no decision has been made. A government source said ministers would approach the issue in a "pragmatic and balanced" way.
The government has been consulting on cutting the 80% requirement, and a significant reduction is now expected. Industry groups have long called for "urgent relief".
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has recused himself from the issue because of his wife's links to an electric vehicle company. Cabinet Office minister Louise Haigh will chair the key meetings instead.
What the rules require
New petrol and diesel cars are due to be phased out by 2030, and all new cars must be zero emission by 2035. The speed of the shift has been hotly debated, including inside the cabinet.
The target is set through the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) mandate, which Rishi Sunak introduced as prime minister. The share of new car sales that must be electric rises each year: 28% for 2025, 33% for 2026, and so on up to 80% by 2030.
The policy has changed several times since former Prime Minister Boris Johnson first introduced the phase-out in 2020. Sunak pushed the timeline back to 2035, and the Burnham government set up a review of the EV sales targets in August.
Opposition and reaction
Sustainability groups say any weakening of the 2030 target will threaten the UK's long-term electrification and climate goals. It could also undermine the country's claim to climate leadership as ministers head to Turkey for COP31, the UN climate summit.
Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, has also opposed the move. Last month it warned that lower targets could damage "the investment certainty needed to deliver the infrastructure, innovation and services required for the transition to zero-emission transport".
Some people are likely to read a steeper watering-down, alongside approval of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, as the government putting economic considerations ahead of environmental ones.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the government was "building up a shocking record of backsliding and bad decisions on climate issues".
Health Minister Karin Smyth was asked in a morning interview whether climate change was still a big priority. She said the government remained committed to its emissions targets and that the prime minister would have "a good story to tell" when he meets other leaders at COP31.
A government spokesperson said: "We are committed to the phase out of all new cars relying solely on petrol and diesel engines by 2030, and to 100% of new car and van sales being zero emission by 2035, and our legally binding net zero targets."
The European Union has already scrapped a similar plan to ban new petrol and diesel car sales by 2035, under pressure from countries with large auto industries such as Germany. The Conservative Party has vowed to abandon the petrol car ban if it wins the next election. Its leader, Kemi Badenoch, has called the ban a "well-meaning, but ultimately destructive piece of legislation".
