U-turn on EV policy could stall UK’s take-up of EVs | Fiona Harvey and Jasper Jolly

Analyst Jess Ralston said weakening emissions targets would not solve the problems for manufacturers, who are already facing intensified competition from China. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA View image in fullscreen Analyst Jess Ralston said weakening emissions targets would not solve the problems for manufacturers, who are already facing intensified competition from China. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA Analysis Policy U-turn could stall Britain’s take-up of electric vehicles Fiona Harvey and Jasper Jolly The 2030 target for 80% of new cars to have zero emissions could be cut to as low as half Electric cars make people happy. More than nine in 10 EV drivers – 94% in a recent poll – are saving money, and a similar number would stick with electric for their next purchase, and recommend them to family and friends. Sales are soaring: more than half of the new cars sold in the UK last month were electric, if hybrids are taken into account, and about 28% of new car sales overall were electric only. This is hardly surprising, given that soaring petrol and diesel costs have pushed up the price of a full tank to about £120. EV drivers are paying about 2.4p a mile. Why then is the government considering a major U-turn on electric vehicle policy that, if followed through, could stall the take-up of EVs, help to close off a route to lower living costs, and dent the UK’s ability to meet its carbon targets? Andy Burnham, the prime minister, wrote in the Guardian this week that he would push ahead with the target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Despite the go-ahead for the Jackdaw gasfield this week, sources in government also hinted to the Guardian that another large project, the Rosebank oilfield, west of Shetland, was less likely to be greenlighted. However, analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) thinktank, seen , shows that the looming decision on the future of electric vehicles could also have a major impact on net zero and carbon budgets, though it has received far less attention. Under the zero emissions vehicle mandate, all new cars and vans sold from 2035 must be fully electric, with interim targets for 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans to be ZEVs by 2030. The end goal of 2035 is likely to remain, but under a consultation that ended on Friday, the 2030 targets could be weakened to 70% or even as low as 50% of new cars. Taken with previous watering down of the policy to allow more sales of hybrid cars – which use both electric and combustion engines – that change would lead to emissions greater than burning all the gas in the Jackdaw field, according to the ECIU.