7:23 am, August 9, 2026
Fresh reports have emerged that the government is considering watering down ZEV Mandate targets to as little as 50%.
A report in June suggested that the ZEV Mandate – which dictates car makers must ensure 80% of their sales are electric cars by 2030 – would be cut to a 50% target.
The news leaked in the dying days of Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, but it now looks as if new PM Andy Burnham will follow through with the plans.
The Times reports that the Department for Transport is set to launch a consultation next week proposing further relaxations to the controversial rules.
Under the existing mandate, 33% of manufacturers’ new car sales are required to be zero emission this year, with the headline target rising progressively to 80% in 2030.
However, The Times believes that ministers will now consult on lowering the 2030 requirement to 70%, 60% or potentially just 50%.
The Department for Transport has been heavily lobbied by manufacturers arguing that the mandate remains too tough.
A source quoted by The Times said there was a ‘recognition’ within government that demand for electric vehicles had not matured as expected when the ZEV framework was devised.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘The EV mandate debate needs facts, not anti-industry fiction.
‘The reality is that not a single manufacturer – UK-based or importing, in credit or not – believes the regulated 2030 target of 80% is on track.
‘With just three and a half years to go, and despite unprecedented incentives, BEV share is 25.3% for cars and not even half that for vans.
‘For cars, the biggest challenge remains private retail buyers, with four in five still choosing non-BEV models.
‘Urgent reform of the mandate is therefore needed, alongside renewed commitment from all stakeholders to build consumer confidence.’
Last week, the SMMT revealed a booming July new car market with sales up overall by 11.7%. Electric car sales were up 44.5% in the month, but this was largely down to the fact that this time last year, buyers were holding off for the introduction of the plug-in car grant.
Hawes cited research that highlighted consumers still have concerns over ‘charging costs’ and the availability and reliability of public chargers when buying an EV.
Wading in on the argument for a a change to the ZEV Mandate was long-time critic Robert Forrester, CEO of listed car dealer group Vertu.
He said: ‘The heavy lobbying of the EV charging sector is a sight to see. Why? Because they are a sector where success is not related to the market but to government pull, subsidies and market distortions. The rest of the sector is far too polite in pointing out this truth.’
Nicola Gilda, boss of car dealer group Peoples, added: ‘Because of the complete lack of logic to ZEV we have to accept an uncomfortable truth that the UK Govt is under so much pressure for money to revive an already broken economy, they’d literally tax anything that moved.’
Recently, Ford of Britain boss Lisa Brankin, called for an urgent review of the mandate as she claimed policy had ‘drifted apart’ from the market.
She said: ‘Ford is calling on the UK Government to urgently review the ZEV mandate.
‘Ford believes in a zero-emissions future. That isn’t in question. What is in question is whether the current policy path reflects how people actually buy and use vehicles today.
‘We have invested heavily and discounted hard, and government grants have helped, yet sustainable demand is still short of the targets for both commercial and passenger vehicles.
‘The mandate and the market have drifted apart, and that gap is getting wider.’
The Times said that the consultation is expected to consider giving manufacturers greater flexibility when they fail to achieve the mandated thresholds.
The potential changes come as the gap between the mandate and actual consumer take-up remains significant.
In the year to date, electric cars have accounted for 25.3% of registrations – well below this year’s 33% ZEV Mandate headline requirement.
Petrol remains the largest individual fuel type, accounting for 42.8% of registrations so far this year.
Under the current rules, the headline ZEV requirement is scheduled to reach 80% for cars in 2030, when sales of new cars powered solely by petrol or diesel are due to end. Hybrids will still be permitted until 2035.
If ministers ultimately opted for a 50% ZEV requirement instead, it could mean around half of new cars sold at the end of the decade could still contain a combustion engine.
Opponents to the changes said car manufacturers were spending ‘more time complaining about demand than creating it’.
Tanya Sinclair, chief executive of Electric Vehicles UK, said: ‘Car manufacturers are among the biggest and most sophisticated marketers in the world.
‘They know better than most that demand doesn’t just appear, it is built.
‘If everyone spent half as much time building consumer demand as they do arguing over percentages, we would be much closer to a fully electric future.’
A government spokeswoman said: ‘We are committed to the 2030 phase out date for new petrol and diesel cars.
‘We’ve always said we’ll review the mandate to support British industry and investment. Further details will be published in due course.’