The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a consultation on how to restore the 2030 phase-out date for new purely petrol and diesel cars, with the aim of restoring clarity for manufacturers and the charging industry.
The consultation proposes updates to the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, which is the sets out the percentage of new zero emission cars and vans that manufacturers will be required to sell each year up to 2030.
However, the DfT said it is focused on ‘how, not if, we reach the 2030 target’ and will give the sector the opportunity to consider how the current arrangements and flexibilities are working, which hybrid cars can be sold between 2030 and 2035, and any further measures to help make the transition a success.
The DfT pointed out that the 2030 phase-out date was broadly supported by industry before the previous Government extended it to 2035 and that more than two-thirds of car manufacturers in the UK have committed to fully transitioning to electric cars by 2030.
It added that the ZEV Mandate already features a range of flexibilities to help industry comply ‘in a way that makes sense for them and the wider market’, including selling fewer zero emission vehicles than the headline target if they make up for it in other ways.
It said the consultation ‘explores the design of these flexibilities to ensure they continue to support manufacturers’.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘The transition to electric is an unprecedented opportunity to attract investment, harness British innovation, and deliver growth for generations to come. Yet over the last few years, our automotive industry has been stifled by a lack of certainty and direction.
‘Today's measures will help us capitalise on the clean energy transition to support thousands of jobs, make the UK a clean energy superpower, and rebuild Britain.’
AA president Edmund King said: ‘The AA supported the original zero emission new cars sales deadline of 2030 as challenging but ambitious and the results of this consultation should define the firm route to zero emissions.
‘Climate change is a critical global challenge and decarbonising transport is essential.’
