London EV Show: UK poised to water-down rules on electric car sales

EV industry experts say transition essential, but changes will make no difference in long run

A Tesla displayed at the London EV Show. Matthew Davies / The National

The rules governing the sales of electric vehicles in the UK are to be relaxed following an intense lobbying campaign by the UK's car makers.

Britain's Business and Trade minister Jonathan Reynolds was due to announce extensive consultation and possible tweaks to the system on Tuesday.

As it stands, the current mandate means at least 22 per cent of new cars sold by every manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero-emission vehicles. For every extra petrol vehicle produced car makers face a £15,000 ($18,800) penalty. The threshold rises annually until no new petrol or diesel vehicles go on sale in the UK.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has said the industry “will likely miss” this year's targets, predicting EVs will constitute about 18 per cent of total sales.

Last week, car makers spoke of the “negative effect” of the ZEV mandate when they met with Mr Reynolds and Transport Secretary Louise Haigh. Car makers want to delay cuts to petrol and diesel sales ahead of 2030, shifting the electric sales burden to later on.

Meanwhile, European car maker Stellantis said on Tuesday it will shut its van-making factory in Luton, north of London, as it moves to focus production elsewhere in the UK.

The company plans to strengthen its EV production hub in Ellesmere Port, in the north-west of England, as part of its efforts to meet the ZEV mandate. More than 1,100 full-time employees currently work at the Luton site and could be transferred to the Ellesmere Port factory, “where hundreds of permanent jobs will be created”, said the company, which owns the Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat brands.

'Irreversible' electrification

Those gathered at the London EV Show said any small changes to the ZEV mandate would not make a big difference to the relentless march towards electric vehicles. It was important for the government to keep 2030 as the year when the sale of new petrol vehicles will be banned, they added.

Giles Shrimpton, the country director for the UK for Last Mile Solutions, a software company involved in charging infrastructure, told The National that “people are moving to EVs and the future is electric”.

“Clearly from a charging industry perspective we fully support the 2030 ZEV mandate,” he said. “The charging industry is investing ahead of the curve. To continue investment the charging industry needs the ZEV mandate not to be watered down in any way.”

Peter Chen, vice general manger at MDS, which makes portable chargers, told The National that the trend towards electrification was “irreversible” and “the reason the car makers in Europe are complaining shows just how competitive the market is, especially with the Chinese makers”.

Hiten Patel at Ezoo, a company that helps companies offer their employees EVs through salary sacrifice schemes, said the car makers still have to “pump out” electric cars.

“I don't think it's going to have a huge impact,” he said. “We've been in a space where ICE (internal combustion engine) cars have been at the forefront of everything. EVs are still a new industry.

“Twenty two per cent means they still have 78 per cent leeway to sell their ICE vehicles. Even if it's watered down, or they lower that target, there's still going to be an impetus on those companies to try and produce as many electric cars as possible. No one wants a fine, no matter how small that fine.”

Policies such as the ZEV mandate were among the leading talking points at the London EV Show on Tuesday, along with sales of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure concerns and the drive towards net zero. More than 3,500 companies were at the ExCeL arena in the east of the UK capital to view some of the latest EV models, next-generation electrification technology, innovative products and solutions, all on display for the next few days.

“There's going to be a lot of focus around adoption of EVs and the willingness of customers to experience and drive an EV and include it in their purchase selection lists,” Cian O'Brien, managing director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK, told The National.

“Also, there will be a lot of talk around the development of the electrification and decarbonisation of transport and how OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and other manufacturers are presenting those products going forward.”

Last week, figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association showed while total vehicle sales were broadly flat in October, sales of fully electric cars rose for the second consecutive month, up 6.9 per cent, while those of hybrid cars rose by 15.8 per cent.

But there were significant differences between countries. In the UK, new EV registrations jumped 24 per cent last month, as manufacturers offered significant discounts, while in Germany EV sales fell 4.9 per cent after the government's scrapping of subsidies late last year.

'Decarbonising personal transport'

In the US it has emerged the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a group representing major car makers including General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen, urged president-elect Donald Trump to retain key tax credits for EV purchases. Shortly after Mr Trump won the election, it was reported his transition team has plans to cancel the $7,500 measure.

“We're at this point in electrification where you've got an increase in the capability of EVs, mainly around the range, which impacts their usability,” Mr O'Brien told The National. “You also have increasing investment in charging infrastructure and there are products in development that will come into play next year that will make it more likely that the growth of EVs will supported effectively.

“But the challenge point is providing really detailed information for customers to make an informed choice and then looking at the balance of incentivisation for those customers to make a decision on decarbonising personal transport.”