ZEV Mandate: Strong Words, Soft Rules
My reflections from this week's change to the UK's EV rules
Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top story in today’s edition... The ZEV mandate has been updated, and I provide my three reflections on it.
Elsewhere… McLaren merges with the new brand Forseven, Char.gy to rock Brighton’s streets, and Ford launches its own incentive package.
Also… apologies for leaving you on hold the past few weeks. I was hospitalised rather pathetically by the common cold. I have now recovered. Speaking of, I’ll be at Everything Electric next Wednesday at the Excel Centre. If you are there, drop me a DM, let me buy you a coffee. You can sign up here 👈
As ever, if you have any comments or feedback, please do get in touch by replying to this email or using the links below.
ZEV Mandate: Strong Words, Soft Rules
Summary: On Monday, the UK government published its response to the latest ZEV mandate consultation. This was the one that ran from Christmas Eve to mid-February. It was brought about in response to a combination of Labour needing to legally consult on bringing back forward the headline date for banning full combustion vehicles to 2030. And, also, due to the lobbying efforts by carmakers who spent much of Autumn calling for a review in light of struggling demand.
The result? Led from the front by the Prime Minister, the UK government delivered on its promise to reintroduce the headline 2030 date for ending sales of new ICE cars. However, in the process, very much under pressure from the recent US tariffs on automotive exports, the UK has opted to provide carmakers with a huge amount of wiggle room to meet the rules.
Here's a screenshot of the headline changes (from the Department for Transport’s technical briefing)…
What this means is… Our ZEV mandate is now closer to a self-help guide than a list of laws. You’d be in more trouble for not finishing a school egg and spoon race.
The response from the EV sector has been mixed. And when I say ‘mixed, I think I’m being fair. I’ve read dozens of reactions over the past few days. Most are publicly very positive. However, speaking to people behind the scenes, EV leaders have seen this announcement for what it is: a government more focussed on clinging to a growth narrative than providing the sector with genuine support. This is a good snapshot of reactions here.
Anyway, those are the top lines on the new changes. Below are my three reflections on the update (and what could happen next).
1. Void left open by No10’s rush
Only a few weeks ago, DfT minister Lilian Greenwood told SMMT Electrified that we could expect a response to the consultation by “late Spring”. Clearly, global events - aka, President Trump’s tariffs - have since taken over the entire world's agenda. For UK manufacturers with high exports to the US, it’s little wonder Downing Street wanted to seize the present and bring the outcome forward. But, while the announcement on Monday has provided quicker certainty around the mandate. This seems to have come at the expense of Labour fully putting to bed this policy area.
My understanding is OZEV officials essentially had the announcement steamrolled onto them by No10 and HMT. It’s meant briefings have been rushed together with stakeholders and, rather worryingly, some policy packages being worked on - but not yet ready - have had to be sidelined for another day.
While at the recent SMMT conference many carmakers, including Ford’s UK Chair Lisa Brankin, wanted to see a faster pace in the government’s response. The price may have been not getting some of their big asks around support for private buyers answered.
Why is this bad? Two reasons. Firstly, this void has already left the door open for lobbyists on all sides to say the new mandate and flexibilities don’t go far enough. See The Times.
Secondly, due to the rushed news in the backdrop of a global stock meltdown, the framing of the mandate changes was poorly briefed. Ultimately, the media headlines went with terms like ‘watered down’. That narrative will make it much harder for EV businesses, such as charging networks, to raise funds. However, don’t expect to hear too much panic from them yet. I understand they will do all they can to present these changes positively so as not to scare investors. ChargeUK’s statement is probably as critical as the sector will get right now.
2. Consumers entirely forgotten (unless you’re minted)
On Monday, the Prime Minister announced the changes to the ZEV mandate in a speech at JLR’s factory in Solihull. In the speech, he mentioned supporting businesses during this “era of global instability” multiple times. However, not once did he mention the end users: drivers.
I found that very strange. As while I know more EVs are being registered at the moment than ever before, only an idiot would believe we can keep up these rates in years ahead as the larger mass of drivers have to transition. Many challenges remain for those without driveways, for example. In response to the lack of mention, Vicky Edmonds, Chief Executive of EVA England, said: “It is deeply disappointing the Government has today backed EV manufacturers whilst failing to acknowledge the pressures felt by current and prospective EV drivers.”
My understanding is a consumer package, which could include financial incentives, has been in the works. Though, as to my first point, it’s not ready yet. One person I spoke to was worried the Chancellor may want to protect every penny still for the future, so it may never even appear. While another suggested the £950m Rapid Charging Fund will be repurposed for incentives. I guess we’ll have to wait.
Unless… you are in the small group of vehicle consumers who are looking at buying from Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Pagani, Lamborghini, and McLaren. As those carmakers have a free pass on the rules to 2035.
Now, I can entirely understand the logic of allowing a small carmaker more time to transition, but some of these are major businesses. Last year Bentley raked in hundreds of millions in profit alone. Rolls Royce even more so. And McLaren has just merged with Forseven courtesy of backers in the UAE.
It just stinks a bit. When the announcement was made, the question I’ve been asked most by non-industry people has been ‘is that fair?’. I’m not sure what the right answer is, because some of those brands, like Aston Martin, are struggling and are well-known British icons. But does that mean it should be one rule for their buyers and one rule for everyone else?
At the very least, rather than DfT just providing these carmakers with a blanket exclusion, perhaps more thought should have gone into how they get to use that time. If the UK is going to help you, how can you help the UK?
3. A soft touch doesn’t equal ‘British brilliance’
My final reflection is about the term “British brilliance”. The Prime Minister used it in his ZEV mandate speech three times at JLR.
I appreciate this is likely controversial, but what is he on about? Standing on a factory floor that has had rules weakened to support it, and been promised further backing by the PM if required. This isn’t ‘British brilliance’ to me. It’s weakness.
This is not a dig at JLR - they were just the set for Starmer’s speech - but more of a general dig at where the EV transition has got to. The ZEV mandate has been watered down to help those struggling to compete in a global market that is getting ever more competitive, and to consumers which have less to spend and likely remain confused by what’s expected of them now.
I appreciate it’s easy for me to say; however, surely, ‘brilliance’ would have been recognising the tide of change earlier.
Admittedly, this is part of a much wider reflection I have about British industry since the pandemic. Many of our companies seem to be stuck in an endless ‘Please, Chancellor, can I have some more, Chancellor’ when things don’t go their way. And I can’t be the only one getting a bit fed up with it.
I guarantee that if a charging network goes bust soon due to the weaker transition, the company will be expected to just dust themselves off. So why is it a different rule for carmakers? Has any thought gone into protecting the firms that will ultimately support drivers day-to-day?
To me, I believe in the phrase ‘nothing great is easy’. And all the Prime Minister did with his announcement this week was project British industrial weakness in the face of global action. If we want to be a GREAT Britain, we should surely aim high!
Ramble over. Here are links to the DfT’s consultation response. The House of Commons debate… New Automotive’s briefing (which is very good)… And SMMT’s reaction.
Other quick bits…
🏎️ McLaren plus the new EV brand Forseven have been merged as part of an acquisition and consolidation by Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Holdings. Read more. Or, read my article suggesting this would happen from January.
📈 Huge news for Char.gy who have secured a contract to install 6,000 EV chargers across Brighton. Read more.
🔌 European and UK charging networks Fastned, Ionity plus Atlante and Electra have teamed up to form Spark Alliance, a first of its kind collaboration, to simplify EV charging. Read more.
🛫 Speaking of Fastned, they have just been approved to build a new hub at Hatton Cross. This is a station next to Heathrow. Read more.
💸 Further to changes to the ZEV mandate, Ford has launched a new incentive package for would-be EV buyers. Read more.
🎙️ I don’t normally enjoy podcasts, though I have tuned into Auto Trader’s new one about women in the auto industry. Check it out here (I listen to them on YT, but I’m certain it’s on other platforms).
🚘 It’s great to see both Solihul Council and Liverpool Council hosting their own events to get more people into EVs. More of that, please.
🔋 The BBC has a great story on battery recycling by Altilium happening in Dartmoor. It also goes into the wider opportunity for recycling our EVs. Read more.
💡 This one is more global, but the FT has a fascinating feature on the race for innovation amongst Chinese carmakers. Read more (paywall).
By Tom Riley | Add me on LinkedIn | Email: tomrileylondon[at]gmail.com