Automotive and electric vehicle (EV) companies Ford, Britishvolt and Tesla are among a range of organisations that have collectively written to the UK government asking for a mandate on the minimum number of EVs on British roads by 2024.
Currently, the UK has imposed a deadline of 2035 to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars, though an EV mandate has yet to be announced or finalised.
The letter was penned to align with this week’s COP27 climate summit and was addressed to MPs Mark Harper and Grant Schapps, the respective secretaries of state for transport and business.
Recent figures shows that, in September of this year, 17% of new cars sold in the UK were electric, with the group suggesting that this was a promising sign for a potential mandate of 22% EV sales for manufacturers in 2024.
A mandate on zero emission vehicles has previously been discussed for a deadline of 2024 but currently lacks any accompanying legislation.
The letter suggests that “bringing forward this legislation will provide a clear and dependable signal to infrastructure providers on EV supply, de-risking charge point investment decisions, and building consumer confidence”. It likewise cited the UK government’s own prediction that 40,000 additional jobs could stem from transport electrification.
What’s more, the group added that such a move from the government would be “crucial to help[ing] accelerate the weekly installation rate of new public charging infrastructure”, which it stipulates is essential to the building of consumer confidence in EVs.
In addition to this, the consortium advised against “watering down” the impact of such a mandate by letting manufacturers “borrow” against future EV deliveries, as this could reduce initial rollout, impact the reduction of carbon emissions and delay the implementation of key infrastructure.
Among the list of other signatories were charging operators Chargepoint, Char.gy, Mer, Pod Point Group Holdings, Eo, Faircharge and Osprey.
