Rejected! Government says no to calls for early review of EV sales targets

The Government has rejected calls to bring forward its review of UK electric vehicle sales targets. This came just hours after the car industry called for an urgent review of “over-optimistic” and accelerating mandated quotas for the registration of new electric cars.

Speaking at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ Electrified event, minister for aviation, maritime and decarbonisation Keir Mather told experts from across the automotive sector that the review, set to be conducted this year and published in early 2027, won’t be brought forward despite industry pressure. 

“It is beginning this year, but early 2027, we feel, is the right point to make sure that we can test properly where the pressure points lie in the ZEV mandate and make sure that it continues to work for manufacturers,” he said. “The government is incredibly clear that the EV transition is something that we stand resolutely behind.”

Mather was speaking minutes after SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes, backed by UK bosses of companies including Ford, JLR, Stellantis and Volvo, had led calls to pull forward the review amid levels of discounting he described as “unsustainable” as targets ramp up. 

In his opening address, Hawes emphasised the need to look again at the targets, with manufacturers needing unsustainable levels of discounting to get to the government’s EV targets. 

“For the avoidance of any doubt, this industry remains totally committed to net zero, that destination has not changed and will not change,” he said. ”Sometimes, to reach your destination, your satnav reroutes you, sometimes a diversion is necessary to avoid a roadblock. When the facts change, we change our minds, but not our goal.”

Industry objections to ZEV mandate 

Earlier in the day, the group representing car manufacturers in the UK had called for a review of the “over-optimistic” route to electric vehicles mapped out by the government, claiming the transition pathway was built on assumptions that have since changed. 

A new report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ entitled Same Destination, Smarter Route, set out a gap between 2021 expectations and the 2025 reality. The study found that battery prices are 31% higher than expected, EV prices are 17% higher than expected and industrial energy prices are 80% higher than was predicted in 2021. In addition, consumer demand for electric cars is lower than expected despite regulation and incentives. It also identified that public charging costs are more than double what was predicted in 2021 and EV charging point availability in motorway service stations is behind target. 

“The UK’s EV transition pathway was conceived with the best of intentions – but the assumptions behind it have proved over-ambitious,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes. “A landscape which once looked solid has turned out to be quicksand. Recognising the world of 2026 is not the one envisaged five years ago is not a retreat from ambition; it is a necessary step to achieving it. We need an urgent review that reflects today’s realities, that delivers decarbonisation not deindustrialisation and offers consumers the choice they have always expected.”

Hawes pointed to other markets such as the EU and Canada rolling back on EU ambition, and claimed that manufacturers have funded compliance with the EV mandate to the tune of an average £11,000 per vehicle to ensure targets are met. That is compared with the potential £12,000 per vehicle cost of fines should the level not be met. 

“We know the gap between ambition and demand is too great,” said Hawes, calling for an “urgent” government review of targets. “I don’t know anyone in the industry who thinks we will get to 80% EVs by 2030”, he said. “The assumptions behind the regulations when it was conceived have proven to be wrong.”

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