Key questions surrounding the ZEV mandate

Climate change is one of the most spoken about and important agendas in the political and environmental calendars. One way the UK is hoping to make an impact is by decarbonising our roads.

The UK initially had a plan to ban the sale of new internal-combustion-engined vehicles by the year 2040. This meant that only the sale of electric and hydrogen fuel cell models would be allowed.

However, after numerous changes such as bringing that deadline forward to 2035 and even further still to 2030 – it’s clear that the UK government wants us all to move over to electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles sooner rather than later.

Its latest policy is the ZEV mandate, which was introduced this year. Although we’ve heard this numerous times throughout the automotive industry, what does it actually mean? Will it affect petrol and diesel car sales in the future? And, what can we expect going forward after this year?

In the last week, Ford has announced job cuts of up to 800 employees while Vauxhall has just announced that it will be shuttering its Luton van factory – which will close in April 2025 putting 1,100 jobs at risk.

We’ve answered some of your questions to find out more about what’s going on with Britain’s ZEV mandate.

Firstly, the acronym ‘ZEV’ stands for ‘Zero Emission Vehicle’ and the mandate has been put in place to help speed up the transition to a mass adoption of EVs here in the UK.

Launched this year, the government set a target for every mainstream vehicle manufacturer for their respective sales targets. Every brand must sell at least a 22 per cent share of EVs to comply with the policy and if the firm fails to meet that target, it will be fined up to £15,000 for every vehicle it sells that doesn’t meet the criteria.

Car companies such as Peugeot and Vauxhall now offer an electric variant of every model in their range – giving the two brands a greater advantage in hitting those targets. However, in contrast, Toyota only sells the bZ4x electric SUV, putting it in greater danger of being affected by any large fines.

Currently, yes. At the moment, the policy states that in 2024, all car manufacturers must meet a 22 per cent of EV sales minimum. However, 2025 will see the target rise even further to 28 per cent and then it jumps to 52 per cent in 2028 and then even further still to 80 per cent by 2030.

By the year 2035, the government wants a 100 per cent battery-electric vehicle fleet on the new car market – meaning that you will no longer be able to purchase a new petrol, diesel, hybrid or even plug-in hybrid vehicle.

It could potentially. Sales and demand for EVs this year have been slower than expected and in order for the industry to meet those tough targets from the ZEV mandate, certain car manufacturers have been in talks about limiting the production of their combustion models in favour of offering the consumer the electric alternative in order to boost electric car sales. However, you’ll still be able to buy used petrol and diesel cars.

Initially, there were quite a few manufacturers that were committed to ditching fossil fuels and moving down the EV-only route. Car manufacturers such as Volkswagen are still focusing on that pathway, and the recently rebranded firm, Jaguar, is also keeping its promises firm on the ground.

However, other car makers such as Lotus, Bentley and Mercedes have recently announced a slow-down in their future plans with some now delaying their EV-only initiatives and firms such as Lotus now wanting to offer extended-range plug-in hybrid models. Companies such as Ford have delayed their transitions towards an all-electric future due to slow uptake on sales of EVs and poor infrastructure in the UK.

The simple answer here is, yes you can. The ZEV mandate only affects new vehicle sales, so after 2035 when the government wants us all to ditch our internal-combustion-powered cars for EVs, you will still be able to run your older petrol and diesel car for as long as you want.