The Government has had to accept practical realities

The Government has had to accept practical realities today with its watered-down proposals on the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate. Our data shows that only eight out of 50 brands had EV sales leads of more than 22% in the first two months of 2023, so allowing manufacturers to borrow from future years’ allowances to hit the 22% target in 2024 is common sense.

Key spokesperson

Ian Plummer

Commercial Director

CONNECT

“Manufacturers will only be allowed to play catch-up for so long however and if they can’t meet the targets, or borrow credits from outperformers, they face steep penalties of £15,000 per non-ZEV car.

“On charging infrastructure, the £380 million is much needed, but it needs to be actioned quickly to tackle the growing wealth divide that’s already apparent in EV ownership. For people that don’t have the luxury of a driveway, EVs feel like a distant dream, so plenty of affordable on street public charging is vital for the mass adoption of EVs. However, the Government will need to work harder at removing all the other barriers, notably protracted planning processes with local authorities, that don’t enable the scaling of infrastructure at the kind of accelerated pace we need to see.”