The Government is set to water down rules mandating the switch to electric vehicles after a backlash from carmakers amid weak sales and job cuts. The Telegraph has more.
Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, will announce a fast-track consultation on potential policy changes to the phase-out of petrol engines at an industry gathering on Tuesday, it is understood.
The rethink comes after Mr. Reynolds and Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, last week met executives from seven carmakers, trade groups and charging firms.
Ministers are expected to emphasise the flexibility open to companies as they seek to meet the zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) mandate, which requires an ever-greater percentage of their sales to be electric over the next six years.
The Government is expected to stress that a final 2030 deadline for new petrol and diesel sales is non-negotiable. However, it is also likely to suggest that carmakers will be able to delay cuts to petrol and diesel sales in the run-up to 2030, provided they make up for it by selling even more electric cars later on.
Such measures should help mitigate any immediate risk of job cuts, lost investment and factory closures, according to one source close to the deliberations.
Ford last week announced that it would cut 800 jobs across Britain amid reduced production of key electric models, while Nissan warned that EV targets risked doing “irreversible” damage to the U.K. industry.
Stellantis, the owner of Vauxhall, has said it could mothball plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton employing 1,000 people unless rules are relaxed.
The Government is nevertheless understood to be reluctant to entertain any shift away from the ZEV quotas themselves.
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