JLR bosses are confident the upcoming Range Rover Electric will make the firm compliant with the UK's zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, with some 33,000 already on its waiting list and the figure predicted to keep growing until its launch.
As per the ZEV mandate, which came into effect in January, 22% of all major manufacturers’ UK new car sales must be ZEVs, rising to 28% next year, 33% in 2026 and 80% by 2030. Manufacturers will be fined £15,000 per car that misses the target.
Currently, just 1.24% of JLR’s global sales are electric, with the Jaguar I-Pace shifting 5386 examples in the 2023-2024 financial year. In total, JLR sold 431,733 cars during that period. UK sales figures are unavailable, but clearly I-Pace sales alone aren't enough for JLR to comply, and the SUV is due to go off sale later this year anyway.
Importantly, manufacturers can defer sales until a later point in the ZEV mandate cycle up to three years, meaning that a higher proportion of EV sales in 2026, for example, could compensate for falling short of the target in 2025.
JLR CEO Adrian Mardell said strong interest in the upcoming Range Rover Electric – which will arrive towards the end of 2025 – means the company is likely to avoid penalties.
With around a year still to go until orders open officially, some 33,000 people globally are already on the waiting list for Land Rover’s debut EV.
“The interest that we're starting to see in [the] Range Rover BEV is quite extraordinary,” said Mardell. "If that waiting list continues to grow at this level, it's certain this product will be sold out for the first part of its life.
"So obviously that will become a big part of our ZEV requirements and our need to comply with the ZEV mandate.”
The British firm is confident enough in its upcoming EV – and the five other electric Jaguar and Land Rover models due by 2026 – to confirm that it won’t be buying ZEV credits from other manufacturers to hit the government’s strict targets.
UK MD Patrick McGillycuddy said: “There will undoubtedly be a credit market available. We don’t anticipate having to participate. We are planning and are confident we can deliver [the government’s] requirements.”
JLR will not, Mardell said, “push cars” onto the market in a bid to meet the ZEV targets, unlike other manufacturers, which are offering heavy discounts on EVs (in the form of deposit contributions or subsidised charging costs) in a bid to alter their sales mixes.
“The model that we have, which we've worked towards over the last few years, attempts to put the vehicles in the marketplace that the customers and the clients require and need,” said Mardell.
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