The British government has launched a consultation round that could slash its 2030 electric vehicle sales target from 80 percent to as low as 50 percent. But the 2035 ban on new gasoline and diesel cars remains fixed.
The British ZEV mandate has its own ladder to reach defined targets. The percentage of new car sales that need to be EVs increases each year, rising from 33% this year to 80% by 2030. When these targets aren’t met annually, manufacturers face fines.
Softening the targets
Though EV adoption in Britain is among the strongest in Europe, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders forecasts battery electric vehicles will land on 27.4 percent in 2026, or 5.6% below the mandate’s 33 percent target.
This gap forces carmakers to discount EVs to loss-making levels or cough up the fines. However, the mandate has a review clause, which is now being addressed to soften those targets.
More precisely, the consultation puts four options on the table: the headline target of 80 percent for new cars could stay, drop to 70 percent, fall to 60 percent, or tumble to 50 percent. The consultation closes in October this year, after which a decision will be made.
Nonetheless, the government insists that the destination remains unchanged. The 2035 ban on new gasoline and diesel cars stays. Gasoline and mild-hybrid vehicles would still be barred from 2030 onward, but full hybrids and plug-in hybrids could continue through the 2030-2035 window.
Superfast growth
Choosing the latter option means that the other half of Britain’s car sales would need to be PHEVs. And also, the market would need to sprint from 50 to 100 percent in just five years.
The consultation openly admits this scenario would require the fastest post-2030 growth of all options. The numbers matter. An analysis by Carbon Brief estimates that weakening the mandate to 50 percent could result in up to 3 million fewer battery EVs on British roads by 2030.
The review is not lost on critics. The proposal to water down the UK’s biggest climate policy came the day after temperatures in the country hit a record 38°C, triggering wildfires that destroyed homes. At the same time, the electric transition is considered the single largest contributor to emissions cuts this decade and a decisive remedy to climate change.
The government, from its side, cites high industrial energy prices, international competition, and uncertainty over export market access as additional pressures on carmakers.
Not the only one
Yet the market is hardly collapsing. Britain had the highest zero-emission sales share among major European markets in 2024 and 2025 – excluding Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Denmark.
One in four new cars sold is already electric. The UK government says more than 160,000 drivers have used its £2 billion electric car grant, and that over 120,000 public chargers have been installed.
But Britain is not the only government backtracking. The European Commission proposed in December last year to soften the 2035 car CO₂ rule from 100 percent to 90 percent, opening a 10 percent loophole for e-fuels and low-carbon steel credits.
For vans, it suggested cutting the 2030 target from 50 percent to 40 percent. As Britain intends to keep its 100 percent zero-emission target for 2035, the country would still have a tighter final rule than the continent. And, as mentioned, the 2035 ban is not under review.
