Reynolds refused to put aside further changes to the Mandate of Zev

Tuesday 24 June 2025 18:56

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The Business Secretary has defined calls from the automotive industry to put aside further changes to the controversial zero-emission mandate (Zev Mandate), saying he will continue to be involved with the industry to ensure that it does not cause threats to the work or absorption of electric vehicles (EV).

Jonathan Reynolds told the SMMT annual conference that while the government was “very committed” for transition, there was a review clause within the current ZEV mandate framework that enabled it to change the policy again if the market demanded it.

Asked if he would put aside the future changes to the mandate, the secretary of the State said: “I think it’s okay to say that we are very committed … to produce vehicles in the UK, that we are fully committed to transition. But of course, every government that makes sense to monitor market conditions and … I will never know [carmakers] That we do not want to be involved with this industry. “

Reynolds comments emerged after years of uncertainty over the mandate, which was introduced in 2024 and forced car manufacturers to achieve an increase in annual sales targets for electric cars and hybrids or face a large fines.

Last November, the business secretary suddenly was forced to announce consultation into the trip, after the giant making of Dutch cars Stellantis quoted it as a factor behind the closing of the Van factory in Luton.

Zev mandates the subject of heavy lobbying

It was the subject of the heavy industry lobby, with many automotive industries saying elements of encouragement that were more punished – including the uncertainty and malignancy of fines – Making the manufacture of British cars was not competitive.

Consultation peaked in Reynolds made it easier for some sharper elements of the policy, loosening the rules around the hybrid and providing greater flexibility to the target before 2030.

But other industrial heavyweight has warned that more destructive than maintaining the rules will continue to be uncertainty for the fragile automatic manufacturing sector, which has been forced to adapt to some other high -profile ZEV reshuffle. And the change in Reynolds, Rishi Suna chose to push the deadline for the adoption of full EV back to 2030-2035 during her premiership.

Vicky Edmonds, Head of the Eva England Electric Vehicle Trading Agency executive, warned that parliament members of further change, on the grounds that “political rhetoric” and inconsistency have damaged consumer EVS.

And referring to the delay of the deadline, Director of Autotrader Ian Plummer said: “Consumer confidence dent when people are told [not to do] The thing you previously said had to do. “

But discussing the same summit, Business Secretary Shadow Andrew Griffith launched a withered policy assessment, calling for it to be discarded altogether.

“The mandate of zero emission vehicles that keep changing … harmful market share … European producers are very successful,” he said. “Large export markets such as the US, Bay and Asia are the remaining ice (internal combustion machines). The world has not followed our instructions.”

He added: “History teaches us that sustainable industries that have the right to choose about their own future are built on real demands from real consumers, and that state intervention is a bad substitute for this.”