The Commons Business and Trade Committee has written to the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for transport, warning that "outdated" ZEV Mandate thresholds and the threat of new trade barriers with the EU pose a potentially “existential risk” to the UK auto sector.

It urges the Government to bring forward the ZEV review, to be concluded before the end of this year.

Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, said that Britain’s carmakers are being asked to carry a burden that is becoming impossible to sustain. 

He said: "Manufacturers are now spending billions discounting electric vehicles to stimulate demand, while British-based firms are effectively paying overseas competitors for compliance credits, including companies benefiting from major state subsidy abroad.  

“So I welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment in the House of Commons to look again at the operation of the ZEV mandate. The transition to electric vehicles is essential.

"But transitions succeed when they are grounded in commercial reality and backed by a serious industrial strategy. That’s why we need a whole-market review that aligns decarbonisation with competitiveness, protects domestic production, and ensures Britain remains a country that makes cars and not a nation that merely imports them.”