Ford won't limit ICE sales to hit ZEV mandate targets

Ford won’t restrict sales of its combustion models in order to hit the UK’s emissions targets, even though next year’s more stringent rules will be “even harder” to achieve, the car maker’s UK boss has told Autocar.

Lisa Brankin also sent a warning to the UK government that unless incentives arrive as part of the upcoming consultation in the zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) mandate – announced last week – hitting future targets will be “unsustainable” .

Under the current mandate, 22% of a car maker’s total UK sales must be EVs, a target that will rise to 28% in 2025, then incrementally to 80% by 2030, at which point new non-electrified cars will be banned from sale. For each model sold below that target figure, a £15,000 fine is issued. Ford this year is on course to miss the government’s mandate target by 15%.

Next year should be easier for the US firm, given that it now has a four-model EV line-up following the recent launches of the Capri, Explorer and, today, the Puma Gen-E, but 2025 will still be “a challenge”, said Brankin.

Asked if the brand would therefore throttle back ICE sales in order to hit the 28% sales mix, Brankin said: “Success for us is selling EVs and that’s what we want to focus on. Our position is not that we’ll turn off the tap of ICE vehicles.”

To sell EVs, however, buyers must be given incentives, she said. “If you look at fleets, with benefit-in-kind taxation incentives, the [EV] sales mix for us is 45%, so it shows what we could see with wider incentives,” said Brankin.

She added that Ford is already applying heavy discounts to models just so it can hit current sales numbers, but “to push further to hit the ZEV targets” is “not sustainable”. 

“We need some government incentives to promote momentum in the market,” she warned.

Last week’s announcement that ministers are willing to redraw the ZEV mandate is a potential beacon of hope although the departure of Louise Hague as transport minister just a few days later throws January’s consultation target into doubt, she said. Brankin now “doesn’t know” if incentives will be forthcoming.

Remaining positive, she added: “I think it's really positive that government's listened, and it's really positive that we've got a consultation. I just really hope that we can get incentives and that we can get something quickly.

“The fundamental issue is that customer demand is not at the level of the ZEV mandate. We need to work on making it a more practical piece of legislation. But ultimately the issue the government has got to address is incentives.”