The Government is expected to significantly reduce the number of electric cars manufacturers must sell by 2030, as ministers respond to growing warnings that the current targets are running well ahead of consumer demand.
The BBC reports the existing requirement for 80% of new cars to be zero emission by 2030 is likely to be cut, although Downing Street insists no final decision has yet been taken. Other reports suggest the target could fall to around 60%, with manufacturers also given greater flexibility over how they meet the rules.
The change would not alter the Government’s wider commitment to phase out new cars powered solely by petrol or diesel from 2030, or require all new cars to be zero emission by 2035.
Instead it would ease the annual sales trajectory imposed on manufacturers through the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate.
That has become a major issue for the car industry because electric sales are growing quickly but not fast enough to match the targets already written into law.
Battery electric cars accounted for 26.6% of new registrations in the first 10 months of this year, up from 22.4% during the same period in 2025. The mandate requires manufacturers to reach 33% this year, rising to 38% in 2027, 52% in 2028 and eventually 80% by 2030.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders expects EV share to reach only 27.2% this year and 32% next year, leaving manufacturers increasingly reliant on discounting, credit trading and other flexibilities to avoid penalties.
Carmakers argue they have already spent billions developing electric models and heavily subsidising their sale, while high purchase prices, charging concerns and uncertainty over residual values continue to hold back private buyers.
The SMMT says manufacturers cannot indefinitely bridge the gap between what consumers want to buy and what regulation requires them to sell.
There is another complication for European and British manufacturers in the rapid growth of Chinese brands.
Companies including BYD, Chery, Geely and Changan have expanded aggressively in Britain, helped by lower production costs and a huge domestic Chinese battery supply chain. Reuters reported earlier this year that Chinese manufacturers had taken around 15% of the UK market.
The European Commission has concluded that Chinese battery electric vehicle producers benefit from unfair state subsidies and imposed additional tariffs of between 7.8% and 35.3% on Chinese-made EVs entering the EU.
Britain has not followed Brussels with equivalent duties, leaving the UK a particularly attractive market for Chinese manufacturers competing on price.
That creates an awkward position for established manufacturers. The mandate requires them to push increasingly large volumes of electric vehicles into a market where demand is below the regulatory target while lower-cost Chinese competitors are rapidly increasing their presence.
SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes has said manufacturers remain committed to the move to zero-emission vehicles but warned the regulation was designed when energy was cheaper, production costs were expected to fall faster and forecasts for global EV demand were considerably stronger.
The Government launched its review in August specifically to examine whether the annual targets and existing compliance flexibilities remain realistic, with ministers saying the destination of zero-emission motoring had not changed.
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