UK government announces updates to the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate

The government has announced a relaxation of electric vehicle (EV) sales targets to help the car industry. Manufacturers now have greater flexibility on annual targets and will benefit from lower fines related to EV sales numbers.

Crucially for businesses across the UK considering theirelectric vehicle transition plans, the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars has been confirmed for 2030, having been pushed back to 2035 by the previous government.

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Graham Lesslie, CEO of Gofor, has commented on the government’s update regarding the ZEV Mandate, and what this means for small to medium sized businesses in the UK:

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"First and foremost, I was critical of the previous government's decision to postpone the petrol and diesel ban to 2035, so I credit this government with providing the greater certainty that the fleet and wider automotive sector need by reinstating 2030 as the ZEV Mandate deadline.

Furthermore, our sector, and indeed our country, is far from immune from the wider, global economic turbulence we’re seeing just now, so I can understand the introduction of greater flexibility around annual EV manufacturing targets and the lowering of fines as a rational evolution of the original ZEV mandate.

That said, it’s important to recognise that this does open the door to a slowing of the EV transition. Our role, as a provider of fleet solutions and electric cars and vans to businesses across the UK, is to continue to support these businesses in achieving the level and pace of EV adoption they need as we build towards 2030 and beyond.

This will include educating businesses with the information they need to trust the EV transition and providing the data and solutions to enable this, from EV policy to the growing range of cars and vans available to them, to the government funding available, and more.

There’s always more that can be done here. Our ask of the government is to consider levers such as the freezing or maintenance of low EV BiK rates to give businesses further certainties regarding their EV transition and to keep a razor-sharp focus on the charging infrastructure, making this as accessible as possible to drivers the length and breadth of the UK."

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Read the Government’s statement in full at https://lnkd.in/e_c-FmKD