The Government last week unveiled its proposals for what it terms a world-leading Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. The proposed mandate makes the UK’s path to zero emission vehicles the fastest in Europe and is aimed at setting a strong plan to tackle the vehicle emissions and giving long-term certainty to the industry. The ZEV mandate will ensure that vehicle manufacturers must sell a rising proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) in the lead up to 2030, beginning in 2024.
Over the 12 months leading up to September 2022, ZEVs represented over 15% of new cars and almost 6% of new vans. The proposed minimum ZEV target trajectory for new vans sold begins at 10% in 2024 and reaches 70% in 2030 on the way to 100% in 2035:
This looks conservative in the early years of the mandate when set against SMMT’s February 2023 forecast of 8.6% BEV van share in 2023 and 12.2% for 2024*. One thing is clear, however: uptake of BEV vans is accelerating fast.
In parallel, the Government has proposed measures to accelerate the rollout of reliable charging infrastructure that is easy to use, safe and accessible.
The ZEV mandate is a critical tool in the UK meeting its ambitious Net Zero targets. The clarity given today will give fleets and motorists the confidence to continue their decarbonisation journey and accelerate the transition to zero emission transport.
Gerry Keaney, BVRLA Chief Executive (quoted in ‘Transport + Energy’)
The full text of the proposals is located at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transport-decarbonisation-package-to-help-boost-net-zero-ambitions
Positive responses by influential industry bodies can be viewed at:
