Eurig Druce, UK group managing director for Stellantis UK, the company that owns the carmaker Vauxhall, has welcomed the government’s decision to make the implemention of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate more flexible. But he said more needed to be done to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles. He said:
With the challenging geopolitical operating environment and increased intense pressure on the automotive industry, extending the current flexibilities and the introduction of new ones helps Stellantis in continuing to be compliant …
We welcome the flexibilities to allow our customers more freedom of choice. However, there is still a need to address market demand and introduce measures to stimulate it. We will continue to work closely with government on this.
Good morning. As prime minister, there is nothing more important than being able to show the nation, when a crisis hits, that you are responding pro-actively, that you have a plan to cope, and that you are not just passive and helpless. Today is unusual because Keir Starmer is responding to a crisis caused by someone who is purportedly an ally, but in other respects the crisis response is familiar; “government will protect you”, the PM will say.
Starmer will be giving a speech early this afternoon and here is Pippa Crerar’s overnight preview story about what he is going to say.
Starmer will focus in particular on the car industry, which has been hit by 25% tariffs on exports to the US. He will say:
Global trade is being transformed so we must go further and faster in reshaping our economy and our country through our Plan for Change …
Now more than ever UK businesses and working people need a government that steps up, not stands aside. That means action, not words. So today I am announcing bold changes to the way we support our car industry.
The announcement involves changes to the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, the set of relatively complex rules setting targets for car manufacturers to ensure they transition to producing electric vehicles and stop selling new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. The 2030 target stays (more or less – the government is exempting micro-volume supercar brands, like McLaren and Aston Martin). But manufacturers will be allowed to sell full hybrid cars until 2035, and fines for firms that don’t meet the ZEV (zero emission vehicle) targets will be reduced. Companies will also get more flexibility in how they meet these targets. The Department for Transport has the details in a news release here.
The motor industry has welcomed these changes – as far as they go. But it has also described them as quite modest, and likely to have only a limited impact given the challenges it is facing.
According to the Financial Times, Lisa Brankin, managing director of Ford in the UK, said the announcement was “a small step in the right direction,” but added: “It is not the giant leap required to address the especially challenging electric vehicle market conditions”.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said much more was needed. In a statement Mike Hawes, the SMMT chief executive, said:
We await full details of the regulatory amendments but, given the potentially severe headwinds facing manufacturers following the introduction of US tariffs, greater action will almost certainly be needed to safeguard our industry’s competitiveness. UK-US negotiations must continue at pace, while the long-awaited industrial and trade strategies should prioritise automotive and be delivered at speed.
And in an interview on the Today programme this morning Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu motors, one of the UK’s biggest car dealerships, said:
There are lots and lots of words in the announcement, but it doesn’t really address the major issues. The electric vehicle targets up to 2030 remain in place. The fines have been changed, but it’s still £12,000 pound fine for every petrol and diesel car up to 2030 that’s sold above the zero emission targets. That’s billions of pounds to manufacturers, and manufacturers face a choice with, adding the pressure on of tariffs, of either paying significant fines or rationing petrol and diesel cars. Nothing has really changed here. This is real tinkering.
For a sense of how serious the Trump tariff challenge actually is, do read Graeme Wearden’s business live blog. He says shares on the FTSE 100 have plunged 6% this morning.
Here is the agenda for the day.
10am: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK, holds a press conference in Doncaster with the party’s mayoral candidate in the city, Alexander Jones, and a “special guest”, the party says.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Early afternoon: Keir Starmer gives a speech in the West Midlands on “how this government is backing British business with support to carmakers”, No 10 says.
2.30pm: Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and housing secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3.30pm: Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, is due to make a statement to MPs about changes to the zero emissions vehicle mandate.
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Source: theguardian.com
