If you’ve been eyeing up an electric car, the deal you’re offered over the next few months could be one of the best you’ll see for a while. The Financial Times reports that Andy Burnham’s government has asked carmakers whether they’d back cutting the ZEV mandate’s 2030 target from 80% of new car sales to 60%, with hybrids allowed to make up the rest.
The Department for Transport says its consultation is still running and no decisions have been made. Even so, the 60% figure has landed just two days before the consultation closes, and it gives a clear sense of which way ministers are leaning.
What is the ZEV mandate and what’s changing?
The zero emission vehicle mandate sets the share of each carmaker’s new car sales that has to be fully electric. It started at 22% in 2024, sits at 33% this year and is currently due to rise to 38% in 2027, 52% in 2028, 66% in 2029 and 80% in 2030.
Under the reported plan, the 2030 figure falls to 60%. Petrol and diesel-only cars would still disappear from showrooms in 2030, and the 2035 goal of every new car being zero emission stays in place. The consultation also covers the years in between, so the steps from 2027 are likely to be gentler too, although nothing has been published yet.
That’s a smaller cut than the industry asked for, since Ford and Nissan had called for 40% or 50%. The FT also reports a split inside government, with the business department pushing for the deepest cut possible and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero holding out to protect the UK’s climate targets.
Why the mandate has been paying for your EV discount
Carmakers that miss their target face a fine of £12,000 for every car over the limit, down from £15,000 when the scheme started. Faced with that bill, most have chosen to cut prices instead. Last year the average new EV came with around £11,000 off, adding up to about £5.5bn across the industry, according to SMMT figures.
That’s why you’ve seen brand-new models discounted from the day they launch, something that almost never happened before the mandate. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes has warned more than once that discounting on this scale can’t go on, and the industry has lobbied hard for a lower target so it can scale it back.
Will EV prices go up if the mandate is cut?
Not straight away, because this year’s 33% target hasn’t changed and the industry is well short of it. EVs made up 26.2% of new cars in the first nine months of 2026, and the SMMT says hitting 33% would take about 265,000 extra electric registrations in the last three months of the year alone.
Carmakers have flexibilities to soften that gap, but they still have every reason to push EVs hard between now and the end of December. The real change comes from 2027. If the targets are softened, carmakers won’t need to sell as many EVs at a loss, and we’d expect the biggest launch-day discounts to thin out.
Prices are unlikely to jump overnight, because competition from BYD and the other new Chinese brands keeps a lid on them. Still, the days of five-figure discounts as standard look numbered. The government’s Electric Car Grant, worth up to £3,750 on eligible EVs priced at £37,000 or less, is a separate scheme and isn’t affected by this review.
What it means for used EV values
Heavy discounts on new EVs have pulled used prices down, because a car sold new with £11,000 off is worth less at three years old. If new-car discounts shrink from 2027, we’d expect used EV values to firm up.
That’s good news if you already own an EV and plan to sell it in a couple of years. It’s less welcome if you were hoping a cheap used electric car would get even cheaper.
Chris Ashton-Green, Regit’s founder and chief executive, said: “The EV targets set for manufacturers have been so aggressive that carmakers have had little choice but to discount heavily just to shift enough electric cars and avoid hefty fines. If ministers ease off on those targets, the pressure to offer big deals goes with it, so anyone thinking about going electric should take a hard look at what’s available before Christmas, because this could be the cheapest a new EV gets for some time.”
When will the EV mandate decision be made?
The consultation closes at 11.59pm on Thursday 23 October, and anyone can respond, including private drivers. The government expects to finish its review by early 2027, and until then the 60% figure is a reported proposal that could still move either way. We covered what the review means for the 2030 petrol and diesel ban when it opened.
It’s also worth remembering that EV running costs are changing. Pay-per-mile tax for electric cars is due from 2028 at around 3p a mile, so factor that into any sums you do.
Our verdict
Yes, a softer mandate is likely to mean the end of the biggest EV discounts, but not this year. Carmakers are still chasing a 33% target they’re well short of, so the next couple of months should bring some of the sharpest electric car deals you’ll see.
If an EV suits the way you drive and you can charge at home, we’d buy before the end of the year and not wait for the review to land. If you’re after a used EV, the best bargains are probably in the next 12 months, before softer targets start to prop up values.
If you’re thinking of trading in for an EV while the deals last, get a free car valuation with Regit so you know what your current car is worth before you start haggling.