The prime minister Sr Keir Starmer is to scale back the ambitions of the ZEV Mandate amid fears of damaging the UK automotive sector.
The Sunday Times reported the PM stepping in to water down the electric vehicles sales target, which form a centre piece of energy secretary Ed Miliband net-zero agenda.
An announcement is expected in the coming weeks outlining the changes.
The zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate’s requirement that 80 per cent of new car sales are of all-electric models by 2030 will be reduced to 50%, The Sunday Times reported.
There has been intense lobbying for the government to scale back the ZEV Mandate.
Last week business secretary Labour MP Liam Byrne who is also chair of the Commons Business & Trade Committee has called on the government to bring forward a review of the ZEV Mandate.
Byrne has written to government departments outlining his concerns over the mandate and received replies in return.
Posting on LinkedIn he said: “The ZEV Mandate review must be brought forward now. This is a set of letters which reveal ministers recognise our automotive industry faces serious industrial challenges but see no need for urgency in reviewing the current design of the ZEV Mandate which threatens to tip much of the industry into crisis.
Responding to the post Robert Forrester Vertu Motors CEO said: “This is a very thoughtful and frankly spot on intervention from a highly influential Labour MP.
“The message is getting through that this idealistic, delusional policy must change quickly.
“Government are causing great harm to a sector which could create jobs, apprenticeships and pay taxes.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has repeatedly called for the government to overhaul the regulation covering the ZEV Mandate.
It said the economic conditions for delivering EV growth in 2026 are “far more challenging” than expected when the mandate was designed five years ago.
“Manufacturers have responded, with rapid model rollout and discounts on their sale worth £10 billion over the last two years. Assuming industry will indefinitely absorb every additional cost, however, will only turn away investors and put jobs at risk.
“This is not an argument for slowing the transition – to which industry remains committed – but it is an argument for regulation that is credible from a market and economic perspective.
Trades union Unite also piled in last week saying the mandate could threaten jobs in the sector.
