ChargeUK responds to review of the ZEV mandate

Today the government has announced its planned review of the ZEV mandate, its key EV policy which sets automakers' EV sales targets. 

In response to the ZEV mandate consultation publication, Iain Coucher, Chair, ChargeUK said: 

"We welcome this planned review in which the government has committed to a full assessment of the EV transition, for automotive and charging industries, and for drivers. The ZEV mandate has underpinned the rollout of 120,000 public chargers to date and should be the foundation for a £385 billion economic opportunity from electrification by 2035. 

 "Any weakening threatens billions in charging investment and thus the wider opportunity from electrification. The most extreme options in this consultation threaten to entirely upend the UK’s reindustrialisation plans. 

“There is limited public support for slowing the EV transition and we know millions more people would make the switch if it was affordable for them. So the government has an opportunity to deliver a voter-backed win for people’s pockets by doubling down on the ZEV mandate and cutting the policy costs pushing up public charging prices. Not only would this lower the cost of living it would unleash infrastructure investment in every postcode and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign oil.”

ChargeUK, the EV charging industry association, published polling this week showing that only a minority of the UK public back slowing the EV transition. 

It also published recent polling indicating that reducing public EV charging prices to below petrol could increase EV demand by nearly 50 per cent. 

The association’s recently published report ‘Powering a decade of growth: the economic impact of EV charging’, cited in the government’s consultation, shows the industry is set to deliver £15.5 billion of economic value by 2035, enabling a wider £385 billion opportunity from electrification.