UK government expected to reduce electric vehicle targets this week

The UK government is expected to lower its electric‑vehicle sales target this week, a step that car manufacturers are likely to welcome but that environmental groups oppose.

Current policy requires 80% of new cars sold in the UK to be electric by 2030, with all new cars and vans required to be zero‑emission by 2035 and petrol or diesel models to be phased out by 2030. Industry groups have long called for urgent relief, and the government has been consulting on a reduction of the 80% rule. Downing Street says no decision has been taken, while a government source told the BBC the issue would be handled in a “pragmatic and balanced” way.

If ministers opt for a steeper watering‑down, some observers may see it, together with approval of the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, as Prime Minister Andy Burnham putting economic concerns ahead of environmental ones. Sustainability organisations warn that any weakening of the 2030 target could jeopardise the UK's long‑term electrification and climate objectives. A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to the phase out of all new cars relying solely on petrol and diesel engines by 2030, and to 100% of new car and van sales being zero emission by 2035, and our legally binding net zero targets.”

Net zero means balancing greenhouse‑gas emissions produced by human activity with those removed from the atmosphere. The policy to end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles was first announced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2020, later delayed to 2035 by his successor Rishi Sunak, and reviewed by the Burnham administration in August. Pressure from the European Union led the bloc to abandon a similar ban on new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, and the Conservative Party has pledged to drop the ban if it wins the next election, with leader Kemi Badenoch describing it as a “well‑meaning, but ultimately destructive piece of legislation”.