Just three of the 10 biggest car manufacturers in the UK managed to meet the Government’s tough EV sales targets in 2024. Others only managed to squeeze over the threshold by ‘trading’ allowances from other manufacturers who sold a higher proportion of EVs, or by ‘borrowing’ from future years.
The Government’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate was introduced under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Government as a means to accelerate the electrification of Britain’s roads. The law, which came into force in January 2024, required manufacturers to ensure a certain proportion of their sales were of fully electric vehicles.
In the first year, the stipulated target was 22 per cent, rising to 28 per cent in 2025 and now 33 per cent in 2026. This will continue rising until 2035, from when all cars sold new in the UK must be zero-emissions. For every car sold over and above the threshold, manufacturers are fined £12,000.
However, it has now been revealed that in 2024, only three of the UK’s 10 biggest automotive manufacturers – BMW (26 per cent of sales were of EVs), Mercedes-Benz (24 per cent) and Hyundai (24 per cent) – managed to hit the Government’s tough targets.
Stellantis, the parent company of Vauxhall and Peugeot, wasn’t far off at 20 per cent, while Ford was some way behind at nine per cent – although this was before the launch of the electric Ford Puma Gen-E, which was the best-selling electric car in January 2026.
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