Backlash against ‘short-termist’ UK plans to weaken EV sales targets | Electric, hybrid and low-emission cars

The UK government’s plans to further weaken electric car targets have sparked a furious backlash from the charging industry and electric car brand Polestar, which will suffer from the changes.

The government is expected to ease rules known as the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Government sources said the target for pure electric cars will be reduced from 80% of all sales to 50% by 2030.

The Labor government had already weakened the mandate last year by introducing loopholes known as “flexibility” that would allow the sale of more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which combine an engine with a small battery.

The slowdown in the transition to electric cars will deal a major blow, especially to the charging industry, which invests according to future demand.

Greg Jackson, chief executive of Octopus Energy, said the government had chosen “short-term entrenched lobbying over the long-term future of the industry”.

As well as being the UK’s largest retail energy provider, Octopus is also a major player in electric vehicle rental and charging.

“The fossil fuel market is shrinking globally, and our best hope is to accelerate the development of electric vehicles, not go the other way,” Jackson said. “This hesitancy undermines the credibility of government commitments that are supposed to give investors certainty.”

Delvin Lane, chief executive of InstaVolt, which operates a network of ultra-fast chargers, said: “Charging investment requires long lead times and operators need a stable, reliable policy framework to plan, build and attract capital. We urge the government to work closely with the charging industry as we finalize any changes.”

Vicky Read, chief executive of industry lobby group ChargeUK, said weakening the target was a “staggering” proposal that could cost tens of thousands of jobs in the long term.

“The charging industry has poured billions of dollars into destroying chargers based on this policy, beyond profitability,” Read said.

“This government has said it will not flip like its predecessors. Moving the goalposts again would be exactly that; it would deprive the country of a forward-looking, economically prosperous industry and leave us behind the rest of the world.”

The proposal is likely to mean millions more petrol-powered vehicles on Britain’s roads and significantly higher carbon emissions. According to T&E, a think tank that monitors transportation and environmental issues, plug-in hybrids produce an average of 135 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, compared to about 166 grams for gasoline cars. Electric cars directly produce zero carbon and have much lower emissions over their lifetime.

The government’s decision came after intense lobbying by the Unite union, which represents many workers in British automotive factories as well as car manufacturers. Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, described the proposed changes as a “major victory” and said it would “protect jobs for UK car workers”.

But T&E’s UK director Anna Krajinska argued that allowing more sales of plug-in hybrids would ultimately harm the UK industry by leaving the door open to Chinese manufacturers.

China’s Chery, which owns brands such as Omoda and Jaecoo, and BYD, the world’s largest electric car maker, have sold around 30,000 cars in the UK this year, mostly PHEVs.

“Slowing down targets and increasing hybrid sales will destroy the UK’s automotive sector,” Krajinska said.

“Only a rapid switch to battery electricity can secure the future of UK manufacturing. For this to happen, targets must remain unchanged and [the business secretary] “Peter Kyle needs to deliver a coherent and robust industrial policy to transform the sector and jobs.”

A weaker ZEV mandate would also mean a blow to manufacturers focusing on electric cars.

Matt Galvin, UK managing director of Chinese-owned electric brand Polestar, said: “Weakening these targets allows carmakers to slow down electric vehicle development at a time when they should be doing the opposite and accelerating investment and product rollouts.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The UK EV market is strong, but we have always said we would review the guidance to ensure a pragmatic and balanced approach is taken that supports British industry and continues to drive investment.”