The electric car industry has reacted with fury to plans that the Government could amend EV sales targets, describing it as a “catastrophic own goal”.
Labour has launched a new consultation regarding the future of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate and how the UK can move towards its sales goals.
The ZEV mandate requires manufacturers to have a minimum percentage of sales come from electric cars through annual targets, with a 33 per cent goal for the end of the year.
One of the key changes suggests that the 80 per cent target in place for 2030 could be maintained, kept at 80 per cent with extended flexibility, or reduced to 70 per cent, 60 per cent or 50 per cent.
READ MORE: Labour outlines major changes to electric car targets despite massive industry backlash
Additional rule changes could see targets for vans changed from the current 2030 goal of 70 per cent to 60 per cent, 50 per cent or even as low as 40 per cent.
Thom Groot, CEO of The Electric Car Scheme, warned that reducing ZEV mandate targets would be a “catastrophic own goal” for the Government and the future of zero emission motoring.
He noted that consumer demand for electric vehicles was continuing to grow, while demand for new EVs through salary sacrifice has doubled in the last year.
“I would like to see the Government channel the momentum already gained into focusing on innovations and incentives that make EVs more accessible. We will make this clear in the review,” Mr Groot said.
Other experts warned that weakening targets could threaten billions of pounds in charging investment and slow the rollout of public chargers.
Labour has been criticised for launching a consultation that could slash electric car targets
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Iain Coucher, Chair of ChargeUK, added: “There is limited public support for slowing the EV transition and we know millions more people would make the switch if it was affordable for them.
“So the Government has an opportunity to deliver a voter-backed win for people’s pockets by doubling down on the ZEV mandate and cutting the policy costs pushing up public charging prices.”
A recent report from ChargeUK found that a minority of the UK public supports the idea of slowing the electric vehicle transition.
Almost one in five people said that the transition to electric vehicles should be sped up, while more than one-third of people said the pace of change was “about right”.
The wider transition to electric vehicles could create 334,000 jobs and deliver £385billion in value to the UK economy by 2035, ChargeUK uncovered.
The ZEV mandate targets for 2030 could be cut to as little as 50 per cent
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GETTYDelvin Lane, CEO of InstaVolt, acknowledged that billions of pounds had already been invested in the nation’s public EV charging infrastructure, with InstaVolt responsible for “hundreds of millions of pounds”.
He noted that this decision was made as a result of Government policy which gave the chargepoint operator a “clear runway to plan against”.
“Softening the mandate at this stage risks spooking exactly the private capital that’s been building the infrastructure this transition depends on,” Mr Lane added.
The consultation will run until October 23, with the Government maintaining that it remains committed to reviewing the ZEV mandate before 2027.
Ginny Buckley, the chief executive of Electrifying.com, the electric car buying and advice site, said: “Debate around the ZEV mandate is increasingly polarised, but the biggest threat to EV sales is constant flip-flopping and a lack of clear direction.
A graph showing current legislated ZEV headline targets for cars and four alternative options
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“I’d rather see no change to the existing mandate, however, life is all about compromise.
“I understand the pragmatic case for a 2030 target closer to 60 per cent, while recognising plug-in hybrids with meaningful electric range.
“Mild hybrids are different: they can’t drive on electric power alone and remain fundamentally petrol cars.”
She stated that the Government needed to stick with the decision backed by industry to ensure drivers remain confident in electric cars and companies can continue investing in the technology and chargers.