Government EV policy change could cost over £1000 a year for millions of families

“While pitched as a response to the economic chaos of Trump’s tariffs, these changes could actually make things worse, costing UK consumers. With less onus on manufacturers to compete to sell EVs in the UK, and the Government encouraging them to sell more hybrids instead, potentially millions of families could be left to foot a bill of up to £1050 a year for more expensive driving.
 
“We’ve seen what this kind of policy flip flopping has done before under the previous Government when changes criticised by the then opposition confused consumers leading to lower sales even though EVs remain much cheaper to run.
 
“The UK was in the fast lane for EV sales, recently leaping to the front to become Europe’s largest EV market. But despite global experts identifying the ZEV Mandate as having successfully helped British consumers make the switch to electric driving in record numbers, [1] the Government has chosen to weaken it. Manufactures are now more likely to prioritise the sale of hybrids, rather than EVs, in the UK, potentially leaving millions of British families unable to make the switch to cheaper and cleaner electric driving.
 
“EVs are already at price parity with petrol cars on the second hand market and are quickly snapped up when they become available, but these changes will mean fewer second hand EVs available to the 80% of us who buy our cars on the used market.
 
“Given how popular EVs are with their drivers, this looks like bad policy for families, driving up the nation’s driving bill. It also means billions of pounds of investment into the charging network is now in jeopardy, costing jobs and holding back economic growth.”
 
The comparatively low savings on offer from PHEVs, in contrast to the claims made by their manufacturers is a result of compelling evidence from the European Commission that found that PHEVs burn 350% more fuel, and produce 350% more CO2, than their manufacturers claim. [2]
 
Previous analysis has found that, despite claims to the contrary, the car industry as a whole successfully complied with its obligations under the ZEV mandate in its first year, 2024. [3]
 
A recent report by CBI Economics, commissioned by the ECIU, revealed that a failure by the car industry to make the transition to manufacturing EVs could see its contributions to the UK economy fall by as much as 73%, or £34.1bn, and over 400,000 jobs could be lost. Conversely, economic output could increase by over £16bn, and 167,000 new jobs could be created, if a rapid and successful transition takes place. Government support is critical in avoiding such an outcome, and this includes the provision of a stable and supportive regulatory environment through keeping measures like the ZEV Mandate in place. [4]