Keir Starmer is set to relax a planned 2030 ban on hybrid cars amid warnings that electric vehicle sales requirements are threatening the viability of the UK car industry. The Telegraph has the story.
The Department for Transport was expected to ban some hybrids from sale after 2030, when selling pure petrol and diesel cars will also become illegal. However, sources said it was reconsidering the plans following intensive lobbying by the industry.
The proposed rules would have prevented the sale of popular hybrid models such as the Range Rover Evoque and Ford Puma, the Telegraph previously disclosed, owing to concerns that they still have high CO2 emissions. Other, less polluting hybrids would remain available between 2030 and 2035.
Following warnings from carmakers that the move could hurt investment, a Whitehall source on Thursday suggested that the Government is now open to allowing more hybrids to be sold up until 2035.
They said ministers were listening to industry concerns, adding: “When we said everything was on the table, we meant it.”
The option of allowing continued sales of a wider range of hybrids was “100%” being discussed, the source added, although they stressed no decisions had been made yet.
Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, promised “substantial changes” following a meeting last week with Japanese giant Nissan, which operates a large factory in Sunderland.
On Thursday, the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) called for “recognition of the role that all technologies – including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen – have to play in decarbonising road transport, as either stepping stones towards, or full delivery of, a zero tailpipe emission market by 2035”.
It is understood that carmakers have warned Sir Keir’s Government that restrictions on hybrids of any kind between 2030 and 2035 would hurt investment in the UK.
The SMMT is also calling for tax breaks to stimulate demand for EVs, arguing that providing VAT relief could boost sales from 2025 to 2027 from 1.8 million to more than two million.
Major manufacturers including Japanese giant Toyota, which makes the Prius, have championed hybrids as a way of hedging their bets against slower-than-expected EV adoption across Europe.
Most companies lose money on EVs but still make healthy profits on hybrids, particularly luxury models.
The retreat from Net Zero continues.
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