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Automakers are forced to make thousands of electric vehicles that customers don’t want, and face large fines if they don’t.
That is the strategy the Government is following due to an ecological plan devised by public officials that could generate a glut of expensive electric vehicles.
What’s more, it could create a shortage of low-polluting petrol-electric hybrids, for which demand is booming, collapse residual values and destroy what’s left of UK car manufacturing as China moves to clean them up.
Ultimately, UK consumers will pay the price, along with motor industry workers and suppliers who face losing their jobs when factories are forced to close.
But don’t take my word for it. Ask his Labor colleague and former union leader Lord Woodley of Wallasey, who condemned the plan as “political suicide”.
Fiery debate: the numbers don’t add up for electric vehicles
He should know. As a teenager, Tony Woodley began his motoring career at the Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port, Merseyside.
When I met him in the mid-1990s, he was the tough but highly respected chief motor industry negotiator for the giant Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), before becoming its general secretary from 2004 and deputy general secretary of the Unite Union from 2007 to 2011. Like industry bosses, he has stressed that moving towards an electric future is the right thing to do, but what is wrong are the unsustainable timetable and draconian fines.
This is the Government’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, which requires 22 per cent of all new cars sold to UK customers this year to be fully electric. That will rise to 28 per cent next year and then rise to 100 per cent by 2035. Carmakers are fined £15,000 for each non-EV vehicle sold up to the target figure. “It’s ridiculous,” Lord Woodley told his companions.
So far the industry is falling around 4 per cent short of that quota, on track to face fines worth £1.4bn. Car companies are already subsidizing each electric vehicle by around £6,000, which Lord Woodley revealed adds another £2bn to costs.
The fines can be offset by purchasing credits from manufacturers that exceed their electric vehicle targets, namely Chinese manufacturers and the American brand Tesla.
“The idea of British manufacturers paying the Chinese or the Americans billions in loans is nonsense and, in my opinion, political suicide in automotive districts across the country,” he added.
“The market has collapsed, apart from fleet sales, so we need incentives to both build and buy.” Instead, VAT on new electric cars and VAT on public chargers should be reduced to match that of private home chargers. The higher road tax on the purchase of expensive cars should be removed and the timing of the ZEV mandate “reset” to realistic levels.
Electric vehicles and exported commercial vehicles must be counted as “credits.”
Two Vauxhall van plants, Ellesmere Port and Luton, are already “at serious risk of being closed” because of this, it warned.
Robert Forrester, boss of car dealer Vertu, welcomed his comments, saying: “At last Parliament has debated electric vehicles with a proper debate on the damaging Zev Mandate.”
Motorists are saved in the budget
Tough decisions: Chancellor Rachel Reeves
Motorists who drive the vast majority of cars were saved from a tax rise this week when Chancellor Rachel Reeves maintained a freeze on fuel duty.
But the real problem, as always, is in the larger details.
The RAC’s Simon Williams said: “Drivers will breathe a sigh of relief following speculation that the 5p cut would be scrapped at the same time as the tax would be increased beyond the long-term rate of 57.95p.”
Eight in ten drivers tell us they rely on their vehicles, while 70 per cent of commuters living in rural areas have no viable alternatives to getting to work other than taking a car.’
He added: “It is also worth remembering that today 56 percent of the total price per liter of gasoline is already subject to tax in the form of fuel tax and the VAT that is applied on top of it.”
CARS AND MOTORSPORTS: TEST
- Hyundai Inster review: Is it the affordable electric vehicle we’ve been waiting for?
- The most controversial new car of 2024: we drive the Ford Capri EV
- Aston Martin Vanquish: the new British sports brute tested
- Renault 5 EV: Can it recreate the character and charm of the original?
- Polestar 4 EV: the first car sold in Britain WITHOUT a rear window
- We get behind the wheel of the stunning new £336,000 Ferrari 12Cilindri GT
- China’s new sub-£16,000 electric vehicle: Leapmotor T03 arrives in the UK on the cheap
- Peugeot E-5008: Is the £49,000 SUV the choice for eco-conscious families?
- Ducati’s new £30,000 Panigale V4 S costs the same as a small Mercedes
- Is the new £22k MG ZS hybrid family SUV a real bargain?
- This 100,000-pound Volvo has driven me crazy: Driven EX90 SUV
- VW Touareg is a luxury SUV at a lower price: why is it so unpopular?
- We test drive the new MG HS: Britain’s favorite budget family SUV
- We test the £15,000 Dacia Spring – the UK’s CHEAPEST new electric vehicle
- Suitable for UK climates – you can enjoy the Mercedes CLE Cabrio all year round
- Kia’s affordable Picanto offers fun, agile driving in the big city
- MG Cyberster review: Convertible EV costs £60,000 and is fun to drive
- The ‘Euros’-winning Renault Scenic E-Tech gets Ray Massey’s vote
- Ford Explorer: Is the £40,000 electric SUV a good buy for UK drivers?
- Polestar 3: Does the Tesla Model Y now have a real fight on its hands?
- Lotus Eletre is a rival to the Lamborghini Urus EV: the hyper-SUV tested
- The new Dacia Duster is here. Has it lost its value for money appeal?
- Alfa Romeo Tonale Review: Can this SUV deliver some sporting excitement?
- In a world of SUVs, can the VW Passat revitalize the family market?
- Ineos Quartermaster review: the new premium van in the city
- The Peugeot e-3008 is attractive, lively and has a range of 326 miles
- New £165k Aston Martin Vantage tested – is it better than a Ferrari?
- Can BMW harness the magic of the original Mini in a Chinese-made electric vehicle?
- Is this the ultimate convertible supertourer? Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
- The new Fiat 600e EV family car is here, but should you wait for the hybrid?
- VW Tiguan review: The brand’s best-selling SUV is back, but is it better?
- Should you consider the Mini Countryman EV instead of the gasoline one?
- Another BMW goes electric: we test the new iX2 against its gasoline X2 rival
- 2024 Range Rover Evoque plug-in hybrid is a local winner
- Britain’s favorite car DRIVEN: We review the best-selling Ford Puma
- BMW i5 EV offers supercar performance in an executive lounge package
- We drive the £76,000 Kia EV9 – the rival to Korea’s all-electric Range Rover
- Was the BMW M3 Touring worth waiting three decades for? Our review
- Has Britain’s most popular small car gotten much better? New Corsa
- Volvo EX30 review: Sweden’s new ‘green’ pocket rocket SUV, Tesla rival
- Is Renault’s new Austral E-Tech SUV the complete package? we drive it
- The Audi Q8 is irritatingly good for a ‘sporty’ coupe-style SUV
- Ferrari Roma Spider costs £210k – here’s what you get for your money
- China’s all-electric BYD Dolphin lands on land – we test it on UK roads
- Our epic road test through Denmark and Sweden in the new Polestar 2
- The new Abarth 500e convertible is a delight: it is electric and sporty
- Honda’s new CR-V is bigger than its predecessor, but is it better?
- We beat the new Bond to test his new car: Aston Martin DB12 review
- At the wheel of the Rolls-Royce Specter: we test the new EV Roller
- Skoda’s crowning glory: the magnificent L&K 4×4 Estate with boosted extras
- Test Maserati Grecale: the SUV with 50% of sales expected for women
- Dacia’s economical family car with seven seats! The £18,000 Jogger tested
- This Q8 is simply great: we tested Audi’s new Sportback e-tron
- Enter the Dragon! BYD Atto EV is the Chinese company’s first model in the UK
- Ferrari’s first four-door family car – new driven by Purosangue for £313,000
- No-frills thrills: £31,000 MG5 is one of the cheapest family EVs
- Renault’s Arkana ticks all the boxes of what British car buyers want
- Can Peugeot’s stylish 408 hybrid crossover be a hit in the UK? we tried it
- We drive the Civic Type R, the rebellious bad boy of the Honda range
- Rolls Royce Specter: What is it like to drive the first ELECTRIC Roller?
- Driven by Ineos Grenadier: Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £69,000 Defender
- Can you really live with a small Citroën Ami? Seven tasks in seven days
- Don’t make me big! Is the ‘smaller’ Volvo XC60 all the SUV you need?
- We spoil some passengers in the new £211,000 Bentley Bentayga
- New type of Buzz! VW’s electric minivan still looks like a hippie camper van