UK weighs lowering 2030 electric car sales target

The UK government is considering reducing the annual electric-vehicle sales target for 2030, with a 60% target reported as a likely option, but ministers say no decision has been made.

The current Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires zero-emission vehicles to account for 80% of new car sales by 2030. The reported proposal would lower that annual sales requirement and could extend the mandate’s compliance flexibilities to 2034. Those details were attributed to government sources and have not been confirmed by ministers.

Transport Minister Louise Haigh is expected to settle the government’s approach after a meeting in Downing Street on Wednesday, November 11. A government spokesperson said the government remained committed to the ZEV mandate and its wider phase-out goals. The spokesperson said no decisions had been taken.

The annual mandate is distinct from the government’s stated goal of ending sales of new cars powered solely by petrol or diesel by 2030, and requiring all new cars and vans to be zero-emission by 2035. The reported change would ease the required pace of electric-car sales, rather than alter those wider commitments.

The government launched a review in August...