8:45 am, October 14, 2026
The UK government needs to change the ZEV Mandate to be more realistic to consumer demand.
That is the verdict of Renault Group CEO François Provost, who says adapting the eco targets ‘should not be so difficult to decide’.
Speaking to UK media, including Car Dealer, at this week’s Paris Motor Show, the French manufacturer boss said governments, not just the UK, needed to reconsider the pace at which carmakers are being forced to electrify their product ranges.
Provost, who took the helm of Renault Group in 2025, said the EU’s EV ambitions were unrealistic and the UK should also reconsider its targets.
‘We shouldn’t change or withdraw from the ambition to be full-electric, but we have to give more evidence to customers,’ he said.
‘But the 100% electric [target] is unrealistic and is not good for Europe.’
Referring specifically to Britain, he added: ‘For you in the UK, if I may compare, the ZEV Mandate has to be adapted.
‘This should not be so difficult to decide’
Provost’s intervention comes as the government continues to review the ZEV Mandate after pressure from the car industry.
Earlier this year, the SMMT called the current ZEV Mandate a ‘fantasy’, but later welcomed the government’s announcement that it would review the mandate, saying it was ‘much needed’.
The rules currently stipulate that 80% of all new cars (and 70% of new vans) sold by 2030 have to be pure-electric, while some hybrids get a reprieve until 2035.
For 2026 the mandate calls for 33% for new car sales to be pure-electric, with sharp increases every year. Next year the figure shoots up to 38%.
In August, the UK government announced that it would examine whether the mandate was still fit for purpose. That consultation closes on October 23.
Provost insisted the French carmaker was not calling for EV development to be throttled back, pointing to enormous investments companies like Renault had made in the technology.
But he said he believes governments and policymakers need to give greater clarity – and in turn confidence– to manufacturers and customers.
He said: ‘Stop the tsunami of regulation, which has zero interest for the customers.’