Government denies decision on cutting ZEV mandate targets

The government says it has made no decision on watering down the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, despite reports that sales targets are about to be cut. The mandate matters to UK carmakers and their supply chains, which have raised concerns about its impact.

The Guardian reported that Louise Haigh is expected to agree a cut of about a quarter to the EV sales target. Prime minister Andy Burnham, speaking during a visit to Watford, said the consultation on the mandate closed only a fortnight ago and that responses were still being examined. He described the reports as speculation.

The government opened the consultation in August, after carmakers voiced concern about the requirement to phase out sales of purely petrol or diesel cars and vans. The current rules require 80% of car sales to be zero emission, typically electric, by 2030, with hybrids allowed to make up the remainder. Options in the consultation included reducing that target to as low as 50%. The Guardian said the government is expected to sign off a 60% target.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has previously called the current mandate a "fantasy" and welcomed the review.

The prime minister's official spokesman said the government is fully behind the mandate and that no decisions have been taken. He said commitments to end sales of new cars that run only on petrol or diesel by 2030, to make every new car and van zero emission by 2035, and to meet legally binding net zero targets were unchanged. The consultation, he said, was about getting the details right so the switch works for drivers, carmakers and the hundreds of workers whose jobs depend on it.

Haigh will oversee the decision-making process. Burnham has recused himself because his wife, Marie-France van Heel, advises the board of Manchester-based EV charging network Be.EV.

Green campaigners have criticised the potential move, noting that it comes while the international climate conference is under way. Some Labour MPs have also objected. Catherine Fookes, MP for Monmouthshire, told The Guardian: "We need the ZEV mandate to stay."

Ginny Buckley, founder of Electrifying.com, warned that cutting headline targets while keeping or extending concessions that reduce the effective requirement would risk weakening the policy twice. She said the government should listen to manufacturers, whose investment and jobs matter, but that this should not mean letting a few private companies dictate environmental policy.