After yesterday’s bombshell news that Luton’s famous Vauxhall plant faces closure, a massive intervention by Labour is on the cards.
EV take up has not grown as expected and the rules of the ZEV mandate have been partly blamed by Stellantis, the owners of the Luton plant, for their decision to close. The SMMT, which represents the car sector have said in it’s present form ZEV is not working.
They said: “Since the mandate was designed more than two years ago, the original assumptions on which it was founded have not yet been borne out.
“Market demand has, however, failed to meet ambition, interest rates are steep, raw material and energy prices remain high and geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty are impacting global confidence.
“The mandated targets have given manufacturers no option but to subsidise sales, incentivising fleet, business and consumer EV sales through an estimated £4 billion worth of discounts.
“The result is a total ‘compliance bill’ of almost £6 billion in 2024 alone, with costs set to mount next year,…. losses of this scale could force brands to withdraw from the UK market and cause global investors to question the UK’s appeal as a manufacturing destination.”
The Business Secretary has promised a review of the ZEV rules in the near future.
