Electric dream sours Carmakers fight strict EV rules as fines loom

When Ford announced this week that it was cutting 800 jobs in the UK, the US carmaker had stern words for the government.

- Jasper Jolly

It has joined in a chorus of criticism of rules that force companies to sell more electric vehicles (EVs) each year.

The rules, known as the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate are simply "unworkable", Ford said. Someone should have told Ford back in 2022, when it backed the policy. It even called for the UK government to force carmakers to sell even more EVs each year.

"Ford believes that figures lower than the Department for Transport's current proposed trajectory will not send a strong enough signal to customers, manufacturers and investors to spur the appropriate transition," it said at the time. "Furthermore, any lowering of targets will send the wrong signal in terms of charging infrastructure roll-out."

The carmaker did argue that the policy should be subject to review if industry conditions change, according to the government consultation response obtained by the Fast Charge newsletter. But the dramatic shift in its position illustrates how the industry has been caught out by the slowing growth in demand for EVs.