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The UK government’s electric vehicle (EV) targets are expected to be reduced this week in a move likely to be welcomed by carmakers but opposed by environmental groups.<\/b><\/p>\n
Under the current rules, 80% of new cars sold in the UK must be electric by 2030 but industry groups have long called for “urgent relief”.<\/p>\n
New petrol or diesel cars are due to be phased out by 2030 and by 2035 all new cars must be zero emission.<\/p>\n
But the speed of the transition to electric has been hotly debated, including within the cabinet.<\/p>\n
The government has been consulting on reducing its 80% rule and a significant reduction is now expected.<\/p>\n
Downing Street has insisted no decision has been made.<\/p>\n
A government source told the BBC it would approach the issue in a “pragmatic and balanced” way.<\/p>\n
If ministers do decide on a steeper watering-down of the rules, it will arguably be interpreted by some – alongside the approval of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea – as the government prioritising economic considerations over environmental ones.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has recused himself from this issue due to his wife link’s to an electric vehicle company. <\/p>\n
The key meetings on the subject will instead be chaired by Cabinet Office minister Louise Haigh. <\/p>\n
Sustainability groups say any weakening of the 2030 target will threaten the UK’s long-term electrification and climate goals.<\/p>\n
It could undermine the UK’s claim to be providing leadership on climate just as ministers head to Turkey for COP31, the UN’s climate summit.<\/p>\n
Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, has also opposed the move.<\/p>\n
Last month, it said reducing targets could damage “the investment certainty needed to deliver the infrastructure, innovation and services required for the transition to zero-emission transport”.<\/p>\n
A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to the phase out of all new cars relying solely on petrol and diesel engines by 2030, and to 100% of new car and van sales being zero emission by 2035, and our legally binding net zero targets.”<\/p>\n
Net zero means balancing the amount of planet-warming “greenhouse” gases produced by human activities with the amount being actively removed from the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
The government’s policy to phase out petrol and diesel vehicle sales has undergone multiple changes since it was first introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2020.<\/p>\n
His successor Rishi Sunak pushed back the timeline to 2035, and the Burnham government set up a review of the EV sales targets in August.<\/p>\n
Sunak introduced phased targets for EV sales in the UK, known as the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) mandate.<\/p>\n
Under the ZEV mandate, the percentage of new car sales that need to be EVs increases each year. The target was 28% for 2025, 33% for 2026, and so on until it reaches 80% by 2030.<\/p>\n
Pressure in the European Union saw the bloc scrap a similar plan to ban new petrol and diesel car sales by 2035, particularly from countries with large auto industries such as Germany.<\/p>\n
The Conservative Party has also vowed to abandon the petrol car ban if it wins the next election, with leader Kemi Badenoch calling it a “well-meaning, but ultimately destructive piece of legislation”.<\/p>\n
Green Party leader Zack Polanski said the government was “building up a shocking record of backsliding and bad decisions on climate issues”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/p>\nUK electric car sales target set to be weakened<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
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