Trade groups call for government to stand firm on ZEV Mandate

Four organisations at the vanguard of the transition to electrified transport have called on the government to resist pressure to weaken the ZEV mandate, which obliges car manufacturers to sell a minimum of 22% zero emission vehicles in 2024, rising to 80% in 2030 and 100% in 2035.

BEAMA, ChargeUK, REA and UKSIF are asking for an unequivocal confirmation from the government that the mandate will remain in its current form in order that private investors can feel confident funding the rollout of charging infrastructure, which in turn will feed the confidence of the public in switching to EVs.

Between them, these organisations represent UK charge point operators, manufacturers, service providers, companies responsible for grid connection and metering as well as investors in the industry.

At the end of last month, the government announced there would be a consultation on the ZEV Mandate with a final decision in January 2025.

Yselkla Farmer, CEO of BEAMA said: ‘We cannot underestimate the impact moving the goal posts again could have on UK investment and pace of electrification. We recently published our plans for a UK Industrial Strategy which makes a strong case for the growth opportunities stemming from this sector. A decision to back track on the ZEV mandate will be entirely counter to the UK’s longer term ambition to drive inward investment for manufacturing.’

Earlier this month BEAMA – the trade body for energy infrastructure and systems – released their Market Pulse report which  highlights the huge benefits of electrification and the vast economic potential that comes with it. On the downside, it revealed that many companies feel the pace of progress in the UK is too slow and other countries are proving more attractive for investment. 

Factors playing a part in this are a skills shortage, the slow up-take of technologies and policy barriers ‘both regulatory and fiscal.’

Specifically, they found that 57 of the 100 largest UK transport companies, representing £900bn in turnover, have moved or plan on moving investments out of the UK to a market that is more supportive of their sustainability goals.

Given that the previous government pushed back the transition to 100% EVs by five years (from 2030 to 2035), the Mandate is in danger of becoming a shape-shifting policy too ephemeral for either investors or consumers to commit to.

Vicky Read, CEO of ChargeUK said: ‘The ZEV Mandate is working. More and more new and used EVs are being sold as drivers embrace the switch to electric vehicles. ChargeUK members are keeping ahead of demand by rolling out the infrastructure to ensure drivers have access to the right charging solution in the right place.

‘But this hasn’t happened by accident, our members have been able to put in the hard work confident the Government backed their efforts. We need ministers to reconfirm that they will stand by the current ZEV mandate or they risk fatally spooking the very investors they say they are so keen to attract to the UK.’

Trevor Hutchings, CEO of the REA said: ‘The Government will not achieve its legally binding net zero targets without decarbonising transport.  Electric vehicles (EVs) are essential to this so watering down sales targets would be an own goal.

‘It would also put at risk investment and jobs at the very time when we’re in a global race to secure manufacturing in these technologies.  Instead, the Government should focus on encouraging further consumer uptake rather than shifting the goal posts.’

James Alexander CEO of UKSIF added: ‘Investors including many of the UK’s largest pension funds have made significant investments into EVs and charging infrastructure based on the ZEV mandate and the long-term confidence it gave them. Data from the National Audit Office released only days ago shows that those investments have just about put the UK on track to install sufficient charging points by 2030.

‘But policy wavering risks undermining that confidence, which would be very hard to recover from. Meanwhile the lack of a long-term sector decarbonisation plan for UK transport is stalling further private investment and risks widening the gap between our emissions targets and our trajectory. Private finance is ready and waiting to finance electric vehicles and charge points, but other geographies are doing a better job of providing a transparent, consistent policy approach, and the UK risks losing out.’

UKSIF (UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association)

REA (The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology, previously known as  Renewable Energy Association)

BEAMA (formerly the British Electrotechnical and Allied Manufacturers’ Association)