Carmakers threatened jobs to weaken ZEV mandate
From job threats to plug-in pleas, my FOI haul revealed the auto industry’s favourite asks.
Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a newsletter tracking the EV transition in the UK.
This edition is shorter than usual, as I’m on holiday in Wales. However, I will be at Salon Privé this Sunday. If you’re attending, drop me a note.
Top stories today… the UK government publishes its latest travel survey results, a new road investment strategy arrives, plus, as first revealed in The Guardian, I share more details about what carmakers asked Labour for during the recent ZEV Mandate consultation.
As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn. Or why not work with me?
“Stick ‘em up! Or the worker gets it!” — Carmaker responses to Winter ZEV mandate consultation revealed
Headline: Over the weekend, The Guardian reported exclusively on my findings from obtaining more than 130 pages of carmaker responses to the most recent ZEV mandate consultation. These responses led to more flexibility being announced by the Prime Minister in April to support car manufacturers in hitting EV sales trajectories.
Since the story broke, there have been lots of comments. Over the weekend, Perran Moon MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on EVs, commented on LinkedIn: “Personally I believe the 2035 hybrid deadline is too lenient already, but industry needs certainty and so we should stick to that now. It is not the Government’s job to prop up commercial decisions of manufacturers who have chosen not to invest in EVs. If current manufacturers choose to ignore the deadlines that’s their decision.” Meow!
Summary findings... As The Guardian story explained, what I uncovered was that many carmakers threatened UK jobs and manufacturing investment if changes were not made to the ZEV mandate policy. But there were other interesting ‘repeated’ policy asks from carmakers too, such as a call for a charge point mandate, making charging more affordable and easier to use, and that the UK Government should launch a communications campaign to myth-bust the switch. Allowing plug-in hybrids was universal, though BMW went furthest, and rejected the idea of any restrictions at all up to 2035, suggesting the change in dates by Labour was purely “politically symbolic”.
Of course, many carmakers asked for new financial incentives, which obviously we now have in the form of a grant scheme. However, what I didn’t know is, the inspiration for our new scheme, which has been criticised for being overly complex, seems to be based on France’s ‘Bonus Ecologique’ programme, as it was pointed out to the Department for Transport as an example to follow by both Nissan and Stellantis.
So, which carmakers’ responses do I have? I have documents submitted by BMW, Toyota, VW, Nissan, JLR, Stellantis, KIA, Hyundai, Volvo, Honda, and SAIC/MG. I also have SMMT’s. Outside these carmaker-focused ones, I’ve also obtained ChargeUK’s submission and Motability’s. We’ll come back to these another time.
How did I get these responses? I obtained the information via a Freedom of Information request first made in April. Some carmakers - Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford - withheld their responses for commercial reasons, and I have made a challenge for them via the Department for Transport. I am confident that I will win this appeal given the disclosures made by other carmakers.
In September... I will publish a full analysis of each carmaker’s submissions and, for paid subscribers, I will also disclose the documents I’ve received. The reason for this delay is... A) There are a couple of other news stories still to come in the next week related to these documents. And B) As above, I’m presently on holiday.
If you are not a paid subscriber... Here’s a link to become one (with a 30-day free trial) to ensure you can access the documents. Running this newsletter takes a lot of graft, so I really value your support. [And if anyone thinks about signing up, grabbing the docs, and then cancelling straight away - beware, I’m keeping tabs 😜]
In the interim... If you have not read it yet, do check out The Guardian article by Jasper Jolly here. Likewise, if you’re interested in working with me or have any other questions, do visit this page below and get in touch!
Latest EV news...
🚦 This week, after what seems like many years since they consulted, the Department for Transport has published its draft ‘Road Investment Strategy 3’ (or, RIS3). It’s lengthy, though it highlights the need for reliable EV charging at motorway services and commits National Highways to fully electrify its light vehicle fleet by 2030. Find it here.
📉 Elsewhere, DfT has also published the latest results from its annual travel survey - based on a poll in 2024. It surveyed 16,000+ people about their travel habits, and I always find it a worthy read. My top insight discovery so far - as it only came out today - is that fewer than 1 in 10 people now park in a garage, compared to 22% in 2002. Is that because people use their garage for storage now? Are they being converted into offices/spare rooms/Airbnbs? Or is it that people’s cars are now too big? Really interesting. See the survey results here.
💸 The Scottish Government has launched its £4.5million Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund to grow public EV charging provision in underserved areas of Scotland. By focusing on rural and island locations less likely to receive private investment, the programme will contribute to a further 24,000 additional chargers by 2030. Read more.
💷 Speaking of money, Forecourt Trader reports six London councils have secured £7.5m of funding from central government to install EV chargers. Read more.
🔌 A new survey from Direct Line has found that two-thirds of drivers have had to wait more than 10 minutes for an available charger. Read more.
🤷 As European carmakers continue to produce larger SUV-type EVs in the premium bracket, a new report suggests that China’s cheap and small EVs will dominate the market before too long. Read more.
👍 It seems that with the growing availability of affordable used EVs, dealers are reporting much higher confidence amongst the public for them. Great news. Read more.
🚘 First, France gave the world the AMI. And now, Japan has produced the ‘Mibot’ - a super mini EV. Looks nifty. Learn more.
👊 Somerset Council has been allocated nearly £4m from the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to roll out over 1,600 on-street chargers. Read more.
🚚 Good news for heavy-duty fleets, as Shell has today launched a new EV charging network seeking to solve the gaps fleets face. They are doing this by combining Shell Recharge sites, roaming partner locations, semi-public depot sites, and private charging points with controlled third-party access - all available through a single network, making it easier. Nice. Read more.
😮 What the helly*... The Daily Telegraph has a positive piece recommending EVs. Read more (paywall). *Yes, I am down with da kidz.
📊 Finally, iNews has an interesting analysis on the public charging prices across Europe. It seems the cost in Portugal is almost half what it is in Blighty. Read more.