Ross Clark Ross Clark

Will Rishi Sunak’s electric car targets backfire?

Credit: Getty images

Rishi Sunak was attacked by the green lobby for delaying the outright ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035. But has he watered down the government’s ambitions enough? 

What few noticed at the time was that the government has left in place most of the targets on the way to what had been the outright ban in 2030. Under the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, from next year each manufacturer will have to ensure that 22 per cent of the new cars they sell are zero emission (which in practical terms means pure electric as there is a dearth of hydrogen-powered cars on the market). If they fail to do this, they will have to pay severe fines of up to £15,000 per vehicle. The target will increase to 28 per cent in 2025 and 33 per cent in 2033. 

Motorists appear to be hanging onto their vehicles for longer, not least because of the rising cost of car finance

What’s the likelihood of car makers hitting these targets? Not very high, to judge by the car sales figures for October published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) this morning.

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