7:45 am, January 10, 2025
Stellantis has confirmed it met the government’s ZEV mandate targets last year, despite concerns it may fall short.
The carmaker was been a vocal critic of the measure throughout 2024 and blamed the legislation for its decision to close its van plant in Luton, putting 1,100 jobs at risk.
Now however, the outfit has said it sold 39,492 electric cars in the UK throughout the year – above the required 22% of all sales.
The government said last week that it was not expecting to dish out any ZEV mandate fines to manufactures, as a result of ‘flexibilities’ in the rules but Stellantis say it achieved the target ‘through sales’.
Under the mandate, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK in 2024 must have been zero-emission.
Stellantis said it met the requirements with ‘strong sales of the group’s extensive line-up of electric vehicles, with 30 electric cars and vans on sale in the UK across 11 brands’.
The almost 40,000 EVs sold by Stellantis in 2024 represented a 59% increase on 2023 and resulted in a 10% share of the entire new electric car market.
The mandate percentages rise each year with EVs expected to make up 28% of new cars and 16% of new vans in 2025. The figures will eventually rise to 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans by 2030.
Failure to abide by the mandate or make use of flexibilities – such as buying credits from rival companies or making more sales in future years – will result in a requirement to pay the government £15,000 per polluting car sold above the limits.
It comes as Labour continues to consult on changes to the rules, which could include making it easier for non-compliant manufacturers to avoid fines.
Eurig Druce, group managing director of Stellantis UK, said: ‘2024 saw more people than ever purchase an EV and I’d like to thank our customers who have decided to switch to electric with one of our brands and also to our incredible UK retailer network for making it happen.’
He went on: ‘Despite offering a very comprehensive line-up of popular electric cars and vans, and a strong will and focus on making our EVs as attainable as possible, the steep trajectories of the Zev mandate are out of step from current demand.
‘Put simply, if the UK is to achieve its transport emission ambitions, and for EVs to represent 80% of new cars sold in 2030, then consumers are going to need more encouragement from Government to do so.’
‘UK is now the number one EV market in Europe’
EV lobbyists said Stellantis’s sales performance demonstrates that the ZEV mandate is working.
Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: ‘Suggestions that the car industry was struggling, and that the Zev mandate target was too onerous, have proven to be wrong, and were often based on a misunderstanding of how the policy actually works.
‘By encouraging greater competition between manufacturers as they seek to hit their targets, the mandate is driving prices down.’
Quentin Willson, founder of FairCharge and advisory board member of EVUK, added: ‘The fact that Stellantis has hit their ZEV mandate for 2024 shows what we’ve always said – the mandate is achievable.
‘And it’s exactly because of those targets – so often derided by the car industry – that the UK is now the number one EV market in Europe.’
Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive, said: ‘It is fantastic to see Stellantis – a true heavyweight of UK automotive manufacturing – meeting its electric vehicle targets.
‘The lessons for ministers are clear: the UK’s targets are working, consumer demand is there, manufacturers are delivering, and the UK is poised to benefit from greener, cheaper transport.’
Meanwhile, the government says it remains committed to the transition to EVs and is working to ‘unlock a multi-billion-pound industry’.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: ‘The UK is now the largest EV market in Europe and, thanks to the flexibilities of the Zev Mandate, we are confident that the whole industry will meet targets and that no car manufacturer will need to pay fines.
‘We’re investing over £2.3bn to make the transition to zero-emissions vehicles a success, unlocking a multi-billion-pound industry and creating high-quality jobs that will drive growth for decades to come.’
