The UK government is considering cutting its electric vehicle sales target to as low as 50% of all new cars sold by 2030 — down from the current 80% threshold — after car makers pressured ministers to reduce the goal, warning it would cost too much and put jobs at risk, according to the BBC.
What the ZEV mandate currently requires
The existing policy, known as the ZEV mandate, requires the share of new car sales that must be EVs to rise each year from 33% for 2026 until it reaches 80% by 2030, the BBC reported. An outright ban on selling purely petrol or diesel cars past 2030 will remain in place, as promised in Labour's election manifesto. A longer-term deadline for phasing out new hybrid sales also remains in place for 2035.
| Scenario | EV share of new sales by 2030 | 2030 petrol/diesel ban | Hybrid allowance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ZEV mandate | 80% | Stays in place | Not specified |
| Proposed lower target | 50% | Stays in place | Remaining 50% could be hybrid |
| Flexibility option | 80% kept, but compliance flexibility extended to 2034 | Stays in place | Not specified |
Under the 50% scenario, car makers would be permitted to sell up to 50% hybrid vehicles as a proportion of the UK's overall sales, according to the BBC. That shifts the production mix for UK vehicle plants and their suppliers away from pure EVs and toward plug-in and full hybrids.
Why the target is being reviewed
The review follows pressure from motor industry figures who urged ministers to reduce the goal, saying it would cost too much and put jobs at risk, the BBC reported.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on Friday:
It's right we keep targets under review to ensure they're practical and back British industry. The end goal hasn't changed – but we need to take business with us on the journey, and that's exactly what we're doing today, by making sure industry has the chance to shape how we get there.
Mike Hawes, boss of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the primary car industry lobby group, said the ZEV mandate was "conceived under vastly different conditions" and called the review "a timely opportunity to adjust the transition so it works for all."
Political backstory
The policy on EV sales has changed repeatedly over the years. A ban on selling new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030 was first announced by Boris Johnson when he was prime minister, then pushed back to 2035 by his successor Rishi Sunak, the BBC reported. Sunak also introduced more gradual targets for EV sales under the ZEV mandate. Labour has previously accused previous Conservative governments of "moving goalposts on phase out dates."
Industry and climate reaction
Electric car advocates and climate groups criticised the move. Tanya Sinclair, boss of industry group Electric Vehicles UK, criticised the government for "asking whether we should extend the availability of polluting vehicles amid our hottest summer on record." Gurjeet Grewal, chief of Octopus Electric Vehicles, added that weakening the mandate "would send exactly the wrong signal, just as EVs are becoming some of the best-value cars on the road." The Green Alliance said watering down targets would "lock in avoidable emissions while undermining the certainty manufacturers need to invest."
Production timeline
The government will consult on the proposed changes until late October, the BBC reported. Ministers will then decide among cutting the pure-EV sales target to 50% by 2030, keeping 80% but extending flexibility for car makers as far as 2034, or retaining the current trajectory. Whichever option is chosen, the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles remains in force, and the 2035 hybrid phase-out deadline also stands. A cut to 50% would allow hybrids to make up half of UK new-car sales, reshaping the vehicle mix that plants must build and the components suppliers must deliver.
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