The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has published its latest progress report to the UK Parliament, highlighting the essential role of the ZEV Mandate in meeting net zero targets.
According to the report, it was “essential” that this year’s review of the Mandate does not lead to further concessions. If this was to happen, the CCC said it would “severely undermine prospects of achieving the UK’s 2030 NDC”.
As a result it would “exacerbate the UK’s dependence on imported oil, and leave more households paying the higher costs of petrol or diesel cars”, it added.
In addition, the CCC said avoiding more changes to the Mandate was key to consumer and business confidence, “which helps to further spread the cost of fixed charges, and for maintaining investor confidence in the business case for public charging projects”.
The CCC also said the planned review into the cost of public charging should consider VAT and standing charge arrangements for public charging.
Its latest progress update comes as reports suggested last week that Keir Starmer – the outgoing Prime Minister – was set to further weaken the Mandate to battery-electric vehicles being just 50% of new cars by 2030.
Responding to the report’s publication, Vicky Read, chief executive, ChargeUK said:
“The government’s own climate advisers are unequivocal: there must be no further weakening of the mandate. Doing so would not only threaten the country’s climate goals, but leave more households worse off paying high petrol and diesel prices. The CCC is also right to state that another U-turn would undermine the confidence of investors funding charging infrastructure rollout.
“Their independent analysis that the move to electric vehicles is on track and identifies the government’s cost of public EV charging review as an opportunity to reduce costs for millions more households, further encouraging EV uptake.”
Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive of EVA England, said:
“The Committee is right: electric cars are one of the clearest routes to cutting transport emissions, but Government has to keep drivers on side. Our research clearly shows UK drivers are not anti-EV. They are looking at electric cars like any other major household purchase: does it fit my budget, can I charge it, will it match my day-to-day needs?
“That is why weakening the ZEV Mandate again would be the wrong move. It risks knocking confidence just when drivers, manufacturers and investors need certainty.
“The focus now should be on fixing the real barriers: upfront cost, affordable charging for people without driveways, and a second-hand market people can trust. And on eVED, Government cannot introduce a confusing or badly timed EV-only tax – it would send completely the wrong signal. EV drivers are clear they should pay their way, but any new system must be fair, simple, and introduced only when the market is ready.”
Matt Galvin, Managing Director at Polestar UK, said:
“It is an extraordinary own goal that, as the impacts of climate change become increasingly clear, some are still advocating policies that lock in higher emissions and prolong our reliance on fossil fuels. As communities across Britain face more frequent heatwaves, floods and extreme weather, doubling down on the fuels of the past is not a serious response.
“The events of recent years have exposed just how vulnerable British households are to global fossil fuel markets as a result of International conflicts, supply shocks and price volatility. We have seen our pre-owned EV sales double, building on a record-breaking 2025 when our sales rose by a third. The claim that consumers do not want electric vehicles is increasingly at odds with the evidence.
“That is why we should be accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles. It is cutting emissions, creating jobs, attracting investment and unlocking economic opportunities across the country. To sustain this progress, we need greater investment in charging infrastructure, particularly in under served areas; action to end the unfair VAT disparity between public charging and domestic electricity and a pause on EV taxation until electric vehicles become the dominant vehicle type on UK roads.”
Guy Bartlett, CEO of Believ, said:
“The ZEV Mandate gives industry the long-term confidence needed to invest, build and deliver at scale. Weakening it now would risk slowing infrastructure rollout at the very moment private investment is accelerating.
“The UK has a real opportunity to strengthen its position as a stable, investable market for EV infrastructure. Alongside maintaining the Mandate, complementary measures such as reducing charging costs can help support demand and make the transition easier for drivers.”
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said:
“The dependence on electrification to deliver our climate goals is self-evident but the pathway cannot be built on blind optimism. Reducing surface transport emissions is essential but energy prices remain too high, production costs uncompetitive, charging infrastructure at best uneven, and natural demand too low. Yet the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) doubles down by telling Government to ‘stand firm’ on the ZEV mandate, with the heroic assumption that 95% of the new car and van market will be EV by 2030.
“The mandate compels supply, but it cannot compel demand. Despite the massive increase in EV sales, brought about by manufacturer investment, discounting and government incentives, take up is still below both expectations and targets. And although the CCC has no responsibility for employment or economic growth, government does and it cannot ignore the negative effect this market subsidisation is having on production, jobs and future investment.
“Ambition matters, but a regulation that constrains consumer choice, damages industry and slows decarbonisation will undermine industrial, economic and climate goals. Government should challenge these CCC assumptions and rebalance the pathway to this shared goal, while doubling down on enablers such as VAT reductions on charging and broader fiscal incentives to strengthen delivery.”
Tanya Sinclair, CEO, Electric Vehicles UK:
“The CCC’s verdict is clear: the ZEV mandate is working. Nearly one in four new cars sold last year was electric, prices are falling, and two million EVs are now on UK roads.
“That progress needs policy certainty. Mess with the mandate and you make investment, and consumer choice, more challenging. Government should use this review to reinforce confidence in the transition, not reopen a debate that the evidence has already settled.”
Image courtesy of Green Car Guide
