Kia: If you can afford F1, you can afford EVs

Kia calls out small carmakers for F1 spending over EV development

Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.

Top story in today’s paid edition… I reveal how Kia used its ZEV mandate consultation response to call out small carmakers for dodging EV targets, citing high costs, yet still being able to afford being in Formula One.

Elsewhere… The latest registration figures from New AutoMotive suggest high EV demand continues, lots of trade body news, and two major pavement charging firms combine - but some aren’t happy.

As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please reply to this email or message me on LinkedIn.

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Kia denounces luxury brands for EV dodge 🥶

Summary: The South Korean carmaker, Kia, which is one of the best-selling brands in the UK, used its response to the ZEV mandate consultation to call out small manufacturers for wasting time when they could be preparing for the EV transition.

In quite a sharp statement, obtained by The Fast Charge, Kia seems to call out British carmakers such as McLaren and Aston Martin, writing:

"By 2030 all manufacturers however small will have had over a decade to prepare for the end of ICE vehicles and should therefore be subject to the same requirements for both cars and vans. Some smaller volume manufacturers have argued that they do not have the resources to meet the new environmental requirements but at the same time several can afford to race cars in expensive series like Formula One. This appears to be inequitable and should be addressed."

For background... Running a Formula One team is an expensive business. Despite the sport having a cost cap of $135 million, that doesn’t include the amount that’s spent on development, staff, and general operations. It’s reported that some are spending £300-400million. In any case, F1’s popularity - which has grown significantly thanks largely to the Netflix series Drive to Survive - has seen many teams’ valuations skyrocket.

The Formula One safety car is provided by Aston Martin

In the past few weeks alone... Aston Martin sold its 4.6% share in its F1 team for $146 million - valuing it at $3.2bn. Meanwhile, the Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings - who already own McLaren Automotive - just this week spent over a billion pounds to buy up McLaren Racing - valuing the team at £3.5bn. Everything about this sport involves lots of zeros.

Should this be addressed? In the context of the above, Kia does seem to point out an area that does look “inequitable”, especially as ultimately the government did decide to give small carmakers an exemption to 2035. Is it fair, given clearly these overarching sportscar makers have money to spend, for them to get a free pass?

An extract from Kia’s response. Clearly they think everyone else has been lazy.

It’s a tricky one, and the answer probably lies in your politics. On the one hand, the idea of cash-flush luxury brands (and a high-net-worth clientele) being able to have access to more time to develop premium vehicles seems entirely unjust. But, on the other hand, these brands are global, and good advocates for ‘Great Britain Plc’. It’s not like we do much manufacturing in the UK anymore, surely, we don’t want to lose one of the few segments that remain active.

The latter was certainly the view of Aston Martin in July 2024. Last Autumn, I obtained an introductory letter that the company sent to the former Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, following the election.