The UK government has announced new requirements for car manufacturers regarding the production of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) annually until 2030. This decision follows the Prime Minister’s recent decision to postpone the ban on new diesel and petrol cars from 2030 to 2035. This path has been designed to assist both manufacturers and families in transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs), offering flexibility while also stimulating economic growth.
The ZEV mandate revealed today sets an ambitious regulatory framework for the transition to electric vehicles, making it the most progressive in the world. It mandates that by 2030, 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain must be zero-emission, and this requirement will increase to 100% by 2035. This aligns the UK with other major global economies like France, Germany, Sweden, and Canada, which have similar end-of-sale targets for fossil fuel vehicles.
This move provides manufacturers with certainty and allows families more time to adopt EVs by promoting the growth of the second-hand EV market and expanding the charging infrastructure across the country. The plan also boosts investor confidence in charging infrastructure, with the government on track to meet its goal of 300,000 charge points by 2030, an increase of 43% compared to the previous year.
The mandate establishes minimum annual targets, starting with a requirement for 22% of new cars sold in 2024 to be zero-emission, as originally proposed. This percentage will progressively increase each year until reaching 100% by 2035, although some manufacturers aim to achieve 100% earlier. The UK’s ambition has already attracted investments in gigafactories and EV manufacturing, with over £6 billion in private sector charge point funding ready to be deployed. The government is now confirming the trajectory until 2030.
The UK has been making significant progress in phasing out new fossil fuel vehicles, with over £2 billion in government investments supporting this initiative. Recent industry data indicates that 20% of new cars sold in August were zero-emission, and there are currently 48,100 public charge points, in addition to home-based charging installations. Additionally, the government has introduced various schemes to reduce the upfront and operational costs of owning an EV, such as grants for plug-in vans and discounts on home charging points.
To provide flexibility for manufacturers, the measures include a trading scheme that allows them to save compliance for future years or trade it with other manufacturers if they exceed annual targets. In the first year, manufacturers can borrow up to 75% of their annual target, decreasing to 25% by 2026, and offering support during the initial stages of implementation.
The ZEV mandate is a collaborative policy developed in consultation with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure.
Recent major investments by manufacturers have established the UK as a global leader in the automotive sector. BMW, Tata, Nissan, and AESC have made substantial commitments to EV manufacturing and infrastructure development. The government is working closely with private investors to expand the charging infrastructure and has launched initiatives like the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund to install thousands of new chargers across the country.
In addition to public investments, the private sector is also contributing significantly, with Europe’s largest EV charging site in Birmingham and over £6 billion pledged by ChargeUK members to double the UK’s charging network by the end of the year. A report from the National Infrastructure Commission suggests that with a 30% annual growth in chargepoint deployment, the goal of 300,000 chargepoints by 2030 is attainable.
Recognizing that transportation is the largest source of carbon emissions in the UK, the shift to zero-emission cars and vans represents the most substantial carbon reduction measure in the country’s journey to achieving net zero emissions.
