![\"renault](\"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/zero-emissions-vehicle-mandate-faces-industry-pushback-as-uk-considers-easing-2030-ev-targets.jpg\" "\\"renault")
<\/a><\/p>\nCar makers are currently required to ramp up to 52% EV sales in 2028 and 80% in 2030<\/p>\n
The UK government is poised to soften the\u00a0Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate<\/a> \u2013 the legislation requiring that car manufacturers sell an increasing proportion of electric vehicles annually \u2013 according to several media reports.<\/p>\n Under the mandate, a third of every car maker\u2019s UK sales must be electric in 2026, rising to 38% in 2027, 52% in 2028, 66% in 2029 and 80% in 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n The legislation does allow firms to meet their quotas by buying surplus \u2018credits\u2019 from other manufacturers, or by converting reductions in emissions from their combustion-engined fleet into credits. But those who fall short of their ZEV targets face fines of \u00a312,000 per car sold over the allowance.<\/p>\n In 2030, sales of new pure-combustion-engined vehicles \u2013 ie those without some form of hybridisation, though the extent of this has yet to be decided \u2013\u00a0will be outlawed. Second-hand vehicles will not be affected by the band.<\/p>\n As first reported by The Times, the government will meet with the UK car industry this week to discuss softening the mandate so that only 50% of all sales must be electric in 2030. Citing government sources, several reports \u2013 including from The Guardian<\/a> \u2013 suggest the 2030 ban on sales of new pure-combustion cars, and the outlawing of new hybrids five years later, will remain in place.<\/p>\n Car makers had lobbied intensely\u00a0about the dramatic ramp-up in EV sales that they will be forced to enact in the coming years. Many had already turned to discounting to stimulate sales of EVs, warning the practice is\u00a0unsustainable.<\/p>\n For example, Volkswagen sales boss Martin Sander told Autocar in March that it could be forced to raise prices of its combustion-engined cars<\/a> to offset losses made on EVs\u00a0\u2013 which would also make its EVs a more attractive proposition, in comparison.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Stellantis Europe chief Emmanuele Capellano told Autocar the group \u2013 which owns Citro\u00ebn, Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall, among others\u00a0\u2013 may shrink its UK operations<\/a> because of the losses.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Mike Hawes, head of trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said last week that EV “uptake is still not keeping pace with ambition”.<\/p>\n Indeed, the reports come after the House of Commons\u2019 Business and Trade Committee warned the government the mandate \u201cposes significant risks<\/a>\u201d to UK automotive in its current form.<\/p>\n Liam Byrne, committee chairman and Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, said the government\u2019s target to boost domestic vehicle production to 1.3 million by 2035 was \u201cjeopardised\u201d by the mandate.\u00a0<\/p>\n