The Commons Business and Trade Committee (BTC) has called for a review of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate to be brought forward.
However, Electric Vehicles UK strongly criticised the intervention, accusing MPs of taking “a shameful step backwards” and arguing the committee had given too much weight to “legacy manufacturers resisting the transition” while overlooking growth and investment in the UK’s electrification sector.
BTC has written to Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Department for Transport (DfT) ministers warning that the combination of what they claim are outdated ZEV Mandate thresholds and the threat of new trade barriers with the EU pose a potentially “existential risk” to the UK auto sector. It urges the Government to bring forward the ZEV review , to be concluded before the end of this year.
The UK’s ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) mandate requires car manufacturers to ensure a rising proportion of the new vehicles they sell are zero-emission models, mainly electric cars and vans, or face financial penalties.
Earlier this year Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Keir Mather confirmed that the Government has committed to a review of the Mandate next year.
Speaking at the SMMT Electrified event in March, Transport Minister Keir Mather said the UK Government’s commitment to the EV transition was “iron clad”.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) opened the event by stating that it believes a review of the transition to zero emission vehicles was required.
Speaking at the conference, Keir Mather said: “Is it (the ZEV Mandate) ambitious? Yes, of course it is. We as the government are here to ensure it happens. But we also recognise the challenges you are already facing to continue that momentum. We acknowledge the need to listen to you and be pragmatic. We have already committed to the flexibilities in the Mandate, delivering many of the messages that the SMMT and the industry have called for. And we have committed to a review of the Mandate next year.”
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, said:
“Britain’s car makers are being asked to carry a burden that is becoming impossible to sustain. Manufacturers are now spending billions discounting electric vehicles to stimulate demand, while British-based firms are effectively paying overseas competitors for compliance credits, including companies benefiting from major state subsidy abroad.
“So I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment in the House of Commons today to look again at the operation of the ZEV mandate. The transition to electric vehicles is essential. But transitions succeed when they are grounded in commercial reality and backed by a serious industrial strategy. That’s why we need a whole-market review that aligns decarbonisation with competitiveness, protects domestic production, and ensures Britain remains a country that makes cars and not a nation that merely imports them.”
Tanya Sinclair, CEO, Electric Vehicles UK, hit back at the intervention from the Committee.
She said: “This intervention from the Business and Trade Committee is a shameful step backwards from politicians who once committed Britain to leading the industries and technologies of the future. It ignores the reality that much of the automotive sector is already meeting or exceeding ZEV targets, while giving disproportionate weight to a small number of legacy manufacturers resisting the transition.
“It also overlooks the thriving British start-up and scale-up ecosystem being built around electrification – creating jobs, attracting investment and developing the technologies that will define the global economy for decades to come. It is a dark day for the UK when influential members of Parliament appear to advocate driving us backwards into the dirty past of petrol vehicles, just as global competitors accelerate towards the future.
“Those of us working to grow clean industries in this country expect greater ambition from our elected representatives – particularly from a former Minister who understands the scale of the opportunity at stake.”
Ginny Buckley, the chief executive of Electrifying.com, the electric car buying and advice site:
“The real risk to Britain’s car industry isn’t the transition to electric cars, it’s hesitating at the crossroads. Car buyers need consistent messaging, not policy wobbles and at a time when global instability is pushing up energy costs and prices at the pumps, doubling down on electrification is the smartest economic and energy security decision Britain can make.”
Image courtesy of Green Car Guide.
