ZEV Mandate review confirmed: easing of UK electric car sales targets likely

After months of mounting pressure from the automotive industry, the Government has launched a consultation on the controversial ZEV Mandate. This will likely result in a relaxing of restrictions on manufacturers which have, over the past few years, required they ensure a certain proportion of their sales are EVs or face hefty fines.

Announcing the review, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “It’s right we keep targets under review to ensure they’re practical and back British industry. The end goal hasn’t changed – but we need to take business with us on the journey and that’s exactly what we’re doing today by making sure industry has the chance to shape how we get there.”

The Department for Transport states that the 2030 phase-out of pure-petrol and diesel cars will remain in place, as will the 2035 ban on hybrids; the UK has not followed the EU in its abandonment of outright bans on combustion-engined vehicles. 

However, the Government says that “in the context of challenging and complex global economic conditions, including supply chain disruption and tariff and trade uncertainty, the UK is reviewing targets to ensure they remain pro-business and grounded in the real world”.

Until now, a large number of carmakers have struggled to meet ZEV targets without borrowing ‘credits’ from future years, or buying them off other, overly compliant manufacturers. To get as close as they can to the mandated percentages, most brands have offered heavy discounts on EVs, as the cost of doing so is less than the £12,000 fine per model for surpassing the stated threshold.

With the threshold currently set to increase to 38 per cent of sales in 2027, there has been mixed reactions to the Government’s announcement. Chief executive of the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Mike Hawes, described the consultation as “a timely opportunity to adjust the transition so it works for all”.

Hawes added: “That means a commercially sustainable transition which supports UK competitiveness, investment and jobs whilst delivering greater choice and affordability for motorists – the sooner, the better.”

Similarly, boss of the British Vehicle Renting and Leasing Association, Toby Poston, said the trade body will “engage fully with this consultation… ensuring [the] Government understands where policy is working, where greater support is needed, and how we can keep the transition moving with confidence”.

On the other hand, many within the EV industry believe that a dilution of targets could negatively affect consumer confidence and thus the UK’s transition altogether. CEO of one of the UK’s largest charging firms InstaVolt, Delvin Lane, warned: “Ultra-rapid charging investment doesn’t happen on the back of uncertainty. We’ve invested hundreds of millions of pounds into the UK’s charging network, because Government policy gave us a clear runway to plan against. 

“Softening the mandate at this stage risks spooking exactly the private capital that’s been building the infrastructure this transition depends on.”

As of July, a quarter of all new cars sold in the UK in 2026 were fully electric, with EVs now accounting for one in 22 of the total cars on the road here. This is still some way from the 33 per cent sales target set by the ZEV Mandate for 2026, and there are fears sales could slip even further when the eVED pay-per-mile tax arrives in 2028, costing electric car drivers three pence per mile.

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