Government urged to hold firm on ZEV Mandate

Electric Vehicles UK (EVUK) – the industry-to-consumer accelerator for the EV sector - has called for the Government to resist pressure to dilute the effectiveness of its flagship ZEV Mandate.

The call to protect momentum around the UK’s EV targets comes amidst pre-Budget lobbying for it to be weakened for the second time in 2025. Other potential Budget policy measures also risk undermining business certainty and economic opportunity, despite growing evidence of rising demand for BEVs.

With new battery EVs (BEVs) now regularly accounting for more than 25% of all UK car sales, used car sales trending strongly to BEVs, and regular driver surveys showing that more than 9 in 10 EV drivers will never revert to combustion vehicles, the UK is on the cusp of being a zero emissions vehicle leader. But to realise its leadership potential, government policies must support, rather than impede, the progress made to date.

Tanya Sinclair, CEO, Electric Vehicles UK: “I’m delighted to lead this broad partnership of businesses from across the mobility sector. They come together for the first time to underscore how business-critical it is that our government makes consistent and ambitious policy for EVs. In the Budget and beyond, the enemy of business growth is policy instability. The rumours and unconfirmed plans around Motor Tax and the ZEV mandate need to be clarified once and for all, with the government backing UK industry to deliver an ambitious transition to electric vehicles. If the UK government gives us clarity of vision, we can give the UK driving public great EV products and services.”

EVUK is a coalition from across the EV industry - including car manufacturers such as Polestar, Volvo, Tesla, Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo, Changan - as well as energy providers, charging, finance and insurance companies like Octopus and OVO. They are working together to drive demand for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) through consumer advocacy, information campaigns and enabling EV experiences through test-drive events across the UK.