New ZEV Mandate will see you FORCED into an EV – despite the ICE ban pushed back to 2035

The ban on ICE cars has been pushed back to 2035, but the new ZEV mandate will mean you’ll have little choice but an EV by 2030.

Fleet buyers are mopping up 80 per cent of new EV sales, but private buyers are still wary of EVs, and sales seem to be second cars for local journies and wealthy early adopters who just want the latest toy and a bit of a ‘Green’ halo.

The doubts of private buyers seem to have pushed the government in to moving the 2030 ban on ICE cars back to 2035, but in reality, you’re not going to have much choice but to buy an EV by 2030.

The UK government has confirmed the ZEV mandate for car makers which will see them forced to sell at least 22 per cent of their UK sales as EVs next year (2024) or face penalties of £15k per car. And that rises to 80 per cent of EVs by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.

Car makers will be allowed to buy EV credits from other car makers with a big EV output (another cash-cow for Tesla and the wave of Chinese EV makers), but it’s just a way to force car makers to roll out as many EVs as they can despite a lack of demand from private buyers.

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, said:

The path to zero-emission vehicles announced today makes sure the route to get there is proportionate, pragmatic and realistic for families.

Our mandate provides certainty for manufacturers, benefits drivers by providing more options and helps grow the economy by creating skilled jobs.

We are also making it easier than ever to own an electric vehicle, from reaching record levels of chargepoints to providing tax relief for EV owners.

An inevitable consequence of the ZEV mandate will mean ICE cars climbing in price as supply becomes ever more limited, making price parity with EVs inevitable quite soon – but for all the wrong reasons.