In a response to the Climate Change Committee’s parliamentary report on reducing emissions, the chief executive of the
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said the UK’s current pathway to decarbonising road transport is overly reliant on optimistic assumptions about the pace of electrification.
Commenting on the report Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The dependence on electrification to deliver our climate goals is self-evident but the pathway cannot be built on blind optimism. Reducing surface transport emissions is essential but energy prices remain too high, production costs uncompetitive, charging infrastructure at best uneven, and natural demand too low. Yet the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) doubles down by telling Government to ‘stand firm’ on the ZEV mandate, with the heroic assumption that 95% of the new car and van market will be EV by 2030.
“The mandate compels supply, but it cannot compel demand. Despite the massive increase in EV sales, brought about by manufacturer investment, discounting and government incentives, take up is still below both expectations and targets. And although the CCC has no responsibility for employment or economic growth, government does and it cannot ignore the negative effect this market subsidisation is having on production, jobs and future investment."
He continued: “Ambition matters, but a regulation that constrains consumer choice, damages industry and slows decarbonisation will undermine industrial, economic and climate goals. Government should challenge these CCC assumptions and rebalance the pathway to this shared goal, while doubling down on enablers such as VAT reductions on charging and broader fiscal incentives to strengthen delivery."