A Shift in Automotive Policy
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing a significant revision of the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, moving to lower the 2030 target for fully electric car sales from 80% to 50%. This policy retreat represents a major friction point between the Prime Minister’s office and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who has been the primary architect of the government’s ambitious net-zero transport strategy.
Industry and Union Pressure
The proposed change follows intense lobbying from automotive manufacturers and the Unite union. Industry leaders have warned that the current mandate—which requires a rising percentage of EV sales under threat of heavy fines—is distorting the market and squeezing profit margins. Vertu Motors and the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) have argued that the economic conditions for EV growth are far more challenging than anticipated when the regulations were drafted.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham hailed the potential policy change as a “huge victory” for the sector, arguing that the existing targets threatened thousands of UK manufacturing jobs. While the 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars remains intact, the allowance for a higher share of hybrids through 2030 marks a pragmatic pivot by the government.
Broader Challenges to Net-Zero
The EV mandate is not the only pillar of the government’s green agenda currently under strain. Reports indicate that the government’s £22 billion investment project for carbon capture and storage (CCS), launched with much fanfare by Miliband in 2024, is also facing significant implementation hurdles. Critics suggest that the combination of market realities and industrial costs is forcing a broader reassessment of the government’s “green gamble” as it attempts to balance climate goals with the need to protect Britain’s industrial heartlands.