Car makers in the UK successfully argued against proposed incentives within the UK’s new ZEV mandate that would have encouraged the sales of cheaper, more efficient electric cars, as well as longer-range ones.
The ZEV mandate forces car makers to sell ever increasing percentages of EVs, starting this year at 22%. Last year, EV sales stood at 16.5% of the total, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The system as introduced uses a straightforward format that counts one EV as one credit, after car makers lobbied for the government to remove wider proposals that would award a greater number of credits to cars with better battery efficiency, lighter weight or a smaller footprint.
That would have encouraged a faster roll-out of smaller, cheaper EVs as car makers balanced EVs against the sale of more profitable combustion-engined models.
Of the all the major car companies, only Renault pushed for the inclusion of increased credits for selling smaller, cheaper EVs, according to consultation submissions newly obtained by Tom Riley, author of the Fast Charge industry newsletter.
The low availability of affordable electric substitutes for petrol superminis has been a key stumbling block for the wider take-up of EVs, particularly among private buyers who traditionally skew towards smaller, cheaper cars.
The EV share of superminis in 2023 across Europe stood at just 5.4%, against 15% for the whole car market.
No favour for small EVs
The UK government asked the industry back in April 2022 for its feedback on incentivising a range of EV options, including lower vehicle weight, smaller vehicles, cheaper vehicles and those offering more miles per kWh.
Car makers argued that weighting credits towards certain types of EVs was too complicated and would punish those who had already invested in certain types of EVs. Instead they argued strongly for the much simpler 1:1 system that was ultimately agreed.
Many argued that the ZEV mandate was arriving too soon to react with models that would be rewarded in the proposed system.
For example, Toyota argued that favouring one type of EV over another would “unfairly impact” those EVs coming to the market now or in the near future.
The firm – along with others, including Aston Martin, Bentley and MG – also pushed for part credits to be awarded for sales of hybrid cars, but this didn’t form part of the final legislation.
JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover) was another against the idea of rewarding certain categories of EVs, but the company did suggest the idea could be revived after 2028.
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