It has been revealed that a host of car manufacturers, including Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover, and Nissan, pushed the British government to weaken or delay electric vehicle mandates.
The lobbying efforts of car manufacturers came to life after their responses to a government consultation were shared with industry newsletter Fast Charge. While these documents have many redacted statements from car manufacturers in response to the rules, they do show some of the arguments made against the British government’s original plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
In response to the plans, Toyota said it was “extremely concerned” by the UK targets up to 2027, claiming they would be “challenging for manufacturers like Toyota” and that they could cause financial and brand damage. It has also pushed for a delay to fossil fuel bans in a bid to protect its Derbyshire hybrid car factory.
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The Guardian notes that Jaguar Land Rover also claimed it was “far from certain” that car manufacturers would be able to hit the required targets, asserting that they are “set at unachievable levels.” Stellantis and Nissan are also said to have pushed for delays.
“Clearly a lot of carmakers, whilst being enthusiastic about the EV transition in public, had reservations about these trajectories in private,” Fast Charge author Tom Riley said. “It will be interesting to see how this manifests with the ZEV mandate kicking in from January.”
While the British government has delayed the petrol and diesel ban until 2035, it has stipulated that 22% of new cars sold in 2024 must be zero-emission and that this figure needs to rise to 80% by 2030. Although some marques think these rules are unachievable, several others have backed them.
For example, both Tesla and Ford said the government should force car manufacturers to sell more electric vehicles. Volkswagen added that the targets were “ambitious but seem to be generally feasible.”
Ford added that it “believes that the suggested trajectory can be met by many manufacturers across the UK market, and will ensure that those that are lagging accelerate their development appropriately, with the option of trading certificates to make up any shortfalls.”
