Imagine this: you've bought your dream petrol car, but it’s sitting in a compound instead of your driveway because car manufacturers are worried about government fines. That’s the reality for many drivers this holiday season, thanks to the ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) Mandate.
Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors—one of the UK’s biggest car retailers—didn’t hold back when explaining the situation: “We have petrol cars in compounds which have been sold to customers, but the keys cannot be handed over because manufacturers, understandably, want to avoid fines at the end of this year,”
He continued, “Christmas is coming and there will be thousands of car customers of different dealerships around the UK who cannot take delivery of their cars because they are being held over until January and the new ‘quota year’. It’s rationing by the back door.”
Forrester runs a business with 202 sales outlets and isn’t shy about criticising the government’s approach. In a recent column for Auto Express, he warned that the ZEV Mandate could deal a fatal blow to the UK car industry.
He’s also frustrated by the lack of dialogue between the government and car retailers. “My own firm leads the sector in the number of EVs it sells, but it is still nowhere near the government’s arbitrary targets,” he said.
“Ministers have only talked to manufacturers and have spurned all my requests for a meeting to explain the consequences for your neighbourhood car dealer.”
The ZEV Mandate requires car manufacturers to ensure 22% of their annual sales are zero-emission vehicles. Some brands, like Stellantis, have already hit this target by ramping up EV sales and cutting back on petrol car production. But this shift has come at a cost: reduced market share and expensive incentives to push EVs.
Not all brands are handling the situation the same way. While Stellantis, VW, Toyota, and Mazda deny holding back customer deliveries, insiders suggest some manufacturers may be delaying petrol car handovers to avoid fines.
The pressure isn’t going away. In just a few weeks, the ZEV Mandate target jumps from 22% to 28%. With current demand for EVs lagging behind these goals, the challenges for manufacturers, dealers, and drivers are only set to grow.
As one industry insider put it, “this is what you get with a 22 per cent target and EV demand at its current level. In a couple of weeks (Jan 2025) the target jumps to 28 per cent. Demand won’t change suddenly, so what’s going to happen then?”
For now, it looks like some drivers will have to wait until the new year to finally get behind the wheel of their new cars—just in time for even tougher rules to kick in.
