The latest car industry appeal for the UK Government to revise its ZEV mandate has come from Ford of Britain chair and managing director Lisa Brankin.
The mandate, which requires manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission vehicles each year or face fines, has repeatedly come under fire from the industry over the past few months, with the argument that the required pace of change is unviable.
The Government previously committed to a review being published in 2027; Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, recently suggested it would happen as quickly as possible, and that the Government would listen to manufacturers’ concerns.
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Calls for change have also received union backing; although EV charging industry and environmental groups have urged the Government to resist.
EV incentives alone ‘not enough’
Writing on LinkedIn, Brankin, who previously spoke on the mandate earlier this year, said Ford wanted the Government to “urgently review” the policy.
She said: “Ford believes in a zero-emissions future. That isn’t in question. What is in question is whether the current policy path reflects how people actually buy and use vehicles today.
“The Government has shown it will listen and act. The Electric Car Grant, one year old this week, is putting electric cars within the reach of more drivers. We very much welcome the demand-side support.
“But incentives alone cannot close the gap. We have invested heavily and discounted hard, and government grants have helped – yet sustainable demand is still short of the targets for both commercial and passenger vehicles. The mandate and the market have drifted apart, and that gap is getting wider.”
Brankin said that while switching to EVs already made sense for many drivers, for others the timing was not right.
She said: “This is particularly true for our commercial vehicle customers, whose van is the heart of their business, and the switch to full electric doesn’t make sense for some of them at the moment.
“The EU has recalibrated its targets to match the market. It’s time the UK reviewed the ZEV mandate.”