When Vauxhall announced the closure of its Luton plant a few weeks ago it seemed that the government had finally woken up to how the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate was killing off Britain’s car industry. We were promised a consultation on the rules – which demand that manufacturers ensure 22 per cent of cars they sell this year are pure electric, with fines of £15,000 for every petrol or diesel car sold over the limit. This morning we got it. Does it promise salvation for our remaining car factories? Sadly not.
Where are all the booming car factories?
The government is suggesting that manufacturers be allowed a little more flexibility in balancing car and van sales – if they overshoot their target on van sales, for example, they might be allowed to undershoot their target on car sales without penalty. But that is about it. Otherwise, the government has used the opportunity to tighten up the restrictions on the sale of hybrids after 2030, limiting how many grams of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit per kilometer – before hybrids are banished for good from 2035.
There is nothing in the consultation to acknowledge that take-up of electric cars from car-buyers is well below what was imagined when the ZEV rules were drawn up by the Conservative government in 2023.