EVA England open letter urges Govt to keep 2030 ZEV Mandate target

EVA England has written an open letter to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, urging the Government to keep the 2030 ZEV Mandate target at 80% of total sales.

Earlier in the week, The Times reported that the Government was considering reducing the target for electric vehicle (EV) sales in 2030 from 80% to 50%.

In the letter, Vicky Edmonds (pictured), CEO at EVA England warned that weakening the ZEV Mandate sends the wrong signal to drivers, the industry and investors.

She also requested an urgent meeting with Alexander to discuss the mandate.

Edmonds said: “Drivers need certainty. They need confidence that the cars they are being asked to buy are the right choice, and that means stopping the very public back and forth arguments over the ZEV mandate and maintaining it as it is: as a strong and stable policy backbone for the transition.

“UK drivers are not anti-EV: many are already considering electric cars as they would any major household purchase, and are ready to switch where the price, charging and practical fundamentals are right.

“Those who have switched overwhelmingly support the move, with EVA England research showing that 95% of EV drivers would not go back to petrol or diesel.”

EVA England expects the hardest part of the electric transition to be beginning, as lower and middle-income drivers and those without driveways are now beginning to electrify.