The chair of the parliamentary Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne, has hit out at government ministers for their response to questions regarding the ZEV Mandate.
He argued that the responses were “alarming” and showed ministers had “no need for urgency in fixing the ZEV Mandate that threatens to tip much of the industry into crisis”.
The Committee received three responses from ministers to its questions on reform of the ZEV mandate, and wider issues in the UK automotive supply chain.
In a series of responses, the ministers signposted the importance of various elements of the ZEV Mandate to the UK economy.
Chris McDonald MP Minister for Industry, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and the Department for Business and Trade, highlighted the importance of the battery supply chain to the UK economy.
Department for Transport minister Keir Mather MP said the ZEV transition was “crucial to helping Government mobilise investment” and “providing certainty to industry and consumers”.
In addition, Lucy Rigby, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, also said the UK Government was “firmly committed” to the Mandate, and was working with the UK automotive sector to ensure a “successful transition”.
The news comes as a report by ChargeUK revealed the multi-billion pound opportunity – up to £15.5bn – from the ZEV Mandate, and how further revision to it could have a negative impact on the UK economy.
It also revealed that reversing the current flexibilities, which were introduced last year, could also have a positive boost.
Despite the Mandate being reviewed within the next year, and following revisions to the Mandate last year and other flexibilities from the previous Conservative administration, Byrne argued the ministers had “refused to bring forward the review”.
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said:
“This is an alarming set of letters which reveal ministers recognise our automotive industry faces serious industrial challenges – but see no need for urgency in fixing the ZEV Mandate that threatens to tip much of the industry into crisis.
“The Government now admits that critical parts of the battery supply chain, including cathode active materials, are developing more slowly than expected, while manufacturers face rising costs, fierce international competition from unfairly subsidised Chinese rivals plus growing uncertainty in key export markets.
“Yet despite these warnings, ministers have refused to bring forward the review of the mandate, choosing instead to press ahead with targets that many in the industry fear are becoming increasingly detached from industrial reality.
“Surely it’s now time to pause, and check whether aligning with the proposed European timetables makes sense, not least because our automotive supply chains are so interwoven.”
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