BOOST FOR CAR MAKERS AS HYBRIDS GIVEN UNTIL 2035

Government changes to ZEV mandate also introduce greater scope for carbon trading and exempt low-volume brands from rules

- FELIX PAGE

Hybrid cars will be permitted to remain on the UK market until 2035 as part of a substantially relaxed framework for the zeroemission vehicle mandate.

The government described the decision - which it announced along with a number of other reworked rules as a show of support to the British automotive industry, following the US's imposition of 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles.

Late last year, the government pledged to rework the ZEV mandate in consultation with the industry, in light of demand for EVs falling well below the mandated proportion, threatening car makers' ability to trade profitably.

Under the terms of the ZEV mandate, car makers must achieve a 28% EV sales mix in 2025, but recent industry figures have revealed that demand is running more than eight percentage points behind that.

The government had already pledged to make the changes as a matter of urgency, after car makers spent billions on discounting EVs to boost demand to hit last year's mandated 22% mix. But the need for action became more acute at the turn of April, when US president Donald Trump announced swingeing 25% import tariffs on all foreign-made vehicles - a huge blow to the British car industry, which sent 27% of its output Stateside last year.

The government said the changes will "make it easier for the industry to upgrade to make electric vehicles while delivering the manifesto commitment to stop sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030".