The United Kingdom has long sought to impose a ban on the sale of new ICE vehicles by 2030, though that piece of legislation has proven quite controversial lately given the global slowdown in terms of demand for all-electric vehicles. Trouble is, automakers that don’t meet the terms of the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate – such as the initial requirement that 22 percent of all new vehicle registrations from each must consist of electric or fuel cell vehicles in 2024 – face hefty fines. As it turns out, Ford is reportedly poised to be among the automakers that are most at-risk for these fines, too.
According to Automotive News, Ford – along with Volkswagen, Renault, Suzuki, and Nissan – are most likely to face fines for not selling enough EVs in the UK this year, based on data from the research company NewAutomotive. VW Group is currently sitting at around a 15 percent sales mix, but points are also awarded to companies for plug-in hybrid and hybrid sales, as well as improvements in C02 emissions beyond required levels. Regardless, VW is still projected to fall far short of that goal by 13,509 points, which would result in fines of over 200 million pounds.
As for Ford, it’s projected to come in around 7,070 points shy of its goal for passenger vehicles, and even more of a shortage is set to come from the light commercial vehicle market. In the UK, Ford has long dominated LCV sales, but it’s short by 7,624 points in that market as just 1.4 percent of its vans sold this year through October were purely electric. However, automakers are allowed to purchase credits from companies that have met their ZEV targets to avoid these fines, which will reportedly include Tesla, BYD, Geely, and BMW.
Meanwhile, Ford has been quite vocal about its desire for the UK and European governments to offer robust incentives in an effort to drive EV sales, which have thus far fallen behind expected levels of growth. It was recently joined by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who echoed the automaker’s sentiments during an appearance at The Blue Oval’s Cologne Electric Vehicle Center.
Comments
A half century ago the Trade Unions drove almost every car maker out of England and the British Isles. Now the government wants to continue that trend? EVs are just not ready for prime time.
What the EU and Britain are doing is a textbook example of how to destroy an industry. The US better take heed.
Let Britain go, it’s almost gone anyway.