While visiting
Jaguar Land Rover earlier this month, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor made a statement regarding introducing more flexibility into EV mandates. Commenting on their visit, Mike Hawes — chief executive of the
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) — said: “The gravity of recent weeks for the UK automotive industry was signified with the Prime Minister and Chancellor moving quickly to announce the outcome of the Government’s ‘Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate’ and 2030 end of sale consultation.
“It is a significant and essential first step that industry welcomes, with the Government having considered the intense pressures manufacturers are under in such a vastly changed global and geopolitical landscape. Such pressures, however, are long in the making and not just the product of recent weeks. Indeed, the mandate was designed in more optimistic times when the cost of making, and therefore buying, an EV was expected to fall significantly, energy and charging costs anticipated to decrease substantially, and global trade assumed to remain smooth and open between major markets.”
Mr Hawes added that despite the challenges and at immense cost, industry has continued to deliver ever greater EV choice and at pace, with massive discounts driving uptake to record levels. He continued: “However, consumer demand still remains weaker than the country’s ambitions; and while the automotive industry remains fully committed to decarbonising, delivering on ambition urgently requires additional measures to encourage consumers — and particularly EV sceptics — to switch.”
Purchase incentivesHe continued: “As the SMMT has set out, purchase incentives could boost EV demand by a further 15% on top of current forecasts, getting a total of 2 million new EVs on UK roads by 2028, bringing significant carbon savings with them; but given the severe new headwinds facing the industry following the introduction of punitive US tariffs on parts and vehicles shipped across the Atlantic, further action will almost certainly be needed.”
Meanwhile, the SMMT’s latest data relating to light commercial vehicle registration figures showed that more than 51,000 new vans, 4x4s and pick-ups joined UK roads in March; and while this reflected a year-on-year decline of 3.2%, demand for electric vans weighing up to 4.25 tonnes rose for the sixth month running, reaching a new monthly record of 4,215 units.
Mr Hawes concluded: “Demand still remains behind the ambition set by the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, with the ‘greenest’ vans taking a market share of 8.3%, which is just over half the 16% share required this year. That is why we welcomed the Government’s consultation on the mandate, as it provides clarity on the cutting-edge technologies that will be part of the UK’s world-leading decarbonisation timeline up to 2035, along with additional regulatory flexibilities for vans.”