Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to water down the UK’s electric vehicle sales targets, overruling Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in a move driven by pressure from industry and trade unions over potential job losses.
According to reports in The Sunday Times, the government is planning to reduce the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate’s headline target for 2030, cutting the requirement for 80% of new car sales to be fully electric down to 50%. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks, though the changes will require consultation and sign-off from devolved administrations before taking effect nationwide.
The ZEV mandate — introduced under Boris Johnson and which came into force in 2024 — requires car manufacturers to ensure a growing proportion of their sales are zero-emission vehicles each year. The target was 22% in 2024, rose to 28% in 2025, and is currently at 33% for 2026. Manufacturers who miss their targets face fines of up to £12,000 per vehicle by which they fall short.
Starmer is understood to have been convinced to act following sustained lobbying from the car industry, the Unite union and Business Secretary Peter Kyle. Unite has warned that the current trajectory of the mandate could put jobs at risk, with some manufacturers potentially choosing to limit UK sales rather than absorb the costs of missing targets. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has also called for an urgent review, arguing that market conditions in 2026 are considerably more challenging than when the mandate was originally designed.
EV registrations in May 2026 reached a 27.3% market share — strong growth but still short of the 33% required target, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the industry.
For working drivers — particularly those running EVs or considering the switch — this decision matters. If targets are relaxed, there’s less commercial pressure on manufacturers to flood the market with cheaper electric options, which could affect the rate at which running costs fall and the pace of charging infrastructure expansion. If you’re thinking about your next vehicle, it’s worth keeping a close eye on how this develops over the coming weeks.
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