The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate is working, delivering over £41 billion in private investment and more than 120,000 public chargers, but a government consultation risks weakening the policy just as electric cars reach cost parity, according to Gurjeet Grewal, CEO of Octopus Electric Vehicles.
Writing in a comment piece, Grewal warns that amending the mandate - the policy requiring carmakers to sell a rising percentage of electric vehicles each year - would send the wrong signal at a critical moment. "You don't pull over to tinker with the car when it's running smoothly, or you risk taking it off the road," he writes, adding that ministers risk "sleepwalking into a policy wobble" that threatens a British success story.
Investment and infrastructure gains
Since 2020, the mandate has anchored over £41 billion in private sector investment across the UK, securing high-skilled manufacturing jobs at sites like Stellantis's Ellesmere Port and supporting a battery supply chain worth £8.5 billion. It has also broken the deadlock around charging infrastructure, with charge point operators committing over £6 billion to build a national network that has doubled to over 120,000 public chargers, with a new one installed roughly every thirty minutes.
Battery electric vehicles now account for more than a quarter of all new car sales. Manufacturers have delivered a broader range of new EVs, and prices have fallen relative to petrol and diesel models, pushing past the tipping point of cost parity. The cheapest car in the UK today is electric - the Dacia Spring - and switching saves a typical family around £900 a year in running costs.
Risk of weakening targets
Grewal points to lessons from the United States, where stuttering regulatory signals led manufacturers to slash billions in planned investments and sales stalled. If the UK dilutes its targets, Carbon Brief estimates weaker targets could cost consumers £3bn a year in expensive petrol by 2030.
The wider economic stakes are significant. Transport accounts for 58% of the £43 billion Britain spends every year importing foreign oil. Electrifying roads shields families from volatile global energy shocks while turning parked EVs into "batteries on wheels" - feeding power back into the grid and lowering energy bills for everyone.
Consistency over uncertainty
The transition to electric motoring is inevitable, with the technology superior and prices continuing to fall. Grewal argues the mandate already contains sensible flexibilities to help industry adapt. "What business, investors, and motorists need right now isn't more uncertainty - it's clear, consistent, determination," he writes, urging the UK to embrace clean tech and unhook from fossil fuel addiction.
