The UK government may reduce its electric vehicle (EV) targets in the coming weeks, according to reports from the BBC.
Under the current rules, 80% of new cars sold in the UK must be electric by 2030, with petrol and diesel cars to be phased out and all new cars to be zero emission by 2035.
However, the speed of the transition to electric has been fiercely debated by industry professionals, and the government has been consulting on its 80% rule – with a significant reduction expected. A government source told the BBC that they are approaching the issue in a "pragmatic and balanced" way.
If ministers do decide on a reduction, then it could be interpreted as a prioritisation of economic considerations over environmental ones – with sustainability groups claiming that any weakening of the 2030 target will threaten the UK's long-term electrification and climate goals. A scaled-down target could also undermine the UK's claim to be providing leadership on climate just as COP31, the UN's climate summit, begins in Turkey.
Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, has also opposed a target decrease, believing that this could damage the investment certainty required to deliver the infrastructure, innovation and services needed for the transition to zero-emission transport.
The government's policy to phase out petrol and diesel vehicle sales has undergone multiple changes since it was first introduced by former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in 2020. Johnson’s successor, Rishi Sunak, pushed the transitions’ timeline back to 2035, and Andy Burnham’s government set up their review of the EV sales targets in August 2026.
Sunak introduced phased targets for EV sales in the UK, known as the Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) mandate. These targets are currently as follows:
2024 = 22%
2025 = 28%
2026 = 33%
2027 = 38%
2028 = 52%
2029 = 66%
2030 = 80%
The targets from 2031 onwards will be set out in future legislation.